|
|
 |
COMING EVENTS IN DRUG REFORMWith the help of DRCNet --- ( Subscribe to it at http:www.drcnet.org/ )
The following is a listing of a few important events coming up. This listing is by no means complete, and if you don't see your event here, DRCNet probably didn't know about it. They are restarting the Reformer's Calendar after a hiatus, and they need your help! Please send us listings of events large and events small. DRCNet publishes mainly events relating to drug policy, but also occasional ones relating to other justice issues as well as AIDS, human rights, privacy and other concerns that intersect with drug policy. Please e-mail your submissions to calendar@drcnet.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. CALENDAR OF EVENTS February 15, 6:30-8:30pm, New York, NY, Town Hall Meeting/Speak Out on the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Sponsored by the Interfaith Partnership for Criminal Justice in New York City (an affiliate of JusticeWorks Community) and the Black Radical Congress. At Convent Avenue Baptist Church, 420 West 145th St., to be followed by a candlelight vigil remembering the 22,000 currently incarcerated under the Rockefeller laws. For further information, contact Jessica Dias, (718) 499-6704, JusticeWorks@msn.com or http://www.JusticeWorks.org on the web. February 15, 7:30pm, Westchester, NY, "Criminal Injustice: Is our government addicted to prisons?" Featuring Kai Lumumba Barrow of the Westchester People's Action Coalition (WESPAC), and Mary Barr of ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy. At 255 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd., call (914) 682-0488 for info or directions. February 16-18, Raleigh, NC, "Youth Seeking Justice Now: A Southern Regional Conference on the Progressive Reform of the Criminal Justice System." At North Carolina State University, contact smileye@email.unc.edu for further information. February 18, 7:30pm, Philadelphia, PA, "Emperor of Hemp," the story of activist Jack Herer. Movie Night at the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., free, seating limited. RSVP to (215) 386-9224 or visit http://www.whitedog.com for further info; restaurant service available before, during and after movie. February 22-24, New York, NY, "Altered States of Consciousness" conference. At the New School, e-mail SocRes@newschool.edu for further information. February 23, noon-6:00pm, Syracuse, NY, forum on Racism and the Criminal Justice System. Sponsored by the SU Law School chapter of the ACLU, location to be determined. February 24, 6:00-7:00pm, Richmond, VA, Drug War Vigil at the city jail, corner of 17th St. and Fairfield Way. Held the last Saturday of every month, e-mail miguet@november.org for further information. February 26, 6:00pm, Spirit of ReconsiDer Award Dinner, honoring John Dunne and H. Douglas Barclay. At La Serre, 14 Green St., tickets $125/person, RSVP by Feb. 10 to eyle@reconsider.org. February 28, noon, Queens, NY, Press Conference/Vigil held by the Queens chapter of "Mothers of the Disappeared," organization opposing the Rockefeller Drug Laws. At the Supreme Court, Queens Blvd., call (212) 539-8441 for further information. March 5, 5:00pm, Syracuse, NY, "Is the War on Drugs Working?" Debate at SU School of Law with Michael Roona, ReconsiDer and Prof. Levitsky, Maxwell School of Public Policy. For further information e-mail eyle@reconsider.org. March 5, 6:00pm, Philadelphia, PA, "The Quagmire in Colombia: Addressing the Drug War Habit." Table Talk with Prof. Ken Sharpe of Swarthmore College, at the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., $30 includes three-course dinner and discussion, $25 for full-time students registering in advance. For further information visit http://www.whitedog.com or call (215) 386-9224; students may call between for 4:00 and 5:30pm on event days for standby registration, $15 (dinner) or free (discussion only, 7:30). March 7, 10:00am, Philadelphia, PA, Philadelphia Prison System Tour and Lunch. At the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, 8301 State Road, will include discussion with inmates and drug treatment staff. Lunch provided by the Hard Time Cafe, a culinary arts training program for prisoners. Reservations required, call (215) 386-9224, $6/person for lunch and tour, carpooling available. March 8, 5:00-7:00pm, San Francisco, CA, "Women and the Drug War," forum sponsored by The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation. Featuring Amy Ralston (Pofahl), former drug war prisoner granted clemency by President Clinton; as well as Ellen Barry, Legal Services for Women with Children; Barbara Owen, CSU Fresno Dept. of Criminology; and Andrea Shorter of the Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice. At the San Francisco Medical Society, 1409 Sutter (at Franklin), call (415) 921-4987 or e-mail sf@drugpolicy.org to reserve a space. March 9-11, New York, NY, Critical Resistance: Beyond the Prison Industrial Complex. Northeast regional conference, following on the large national gathering in 1998, to focus on the impacts of the prison industrial complex in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, DC. Visit http://www.criticalresistance.org for further information, or call (212) 561-0912 or e-mail critresisteast@aol.com. March 11, 7:30pm, Philadelphia, PA, "The Drug Dilemma: War or Peace," with Walter Cronkite, and "War Zone," film examining police state tactics in the drug war. Movie Night at the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., free, seating limited. RSVP to (215) 386-9224 or visit http://www.whitedog.com for further info; restaurant service available before, during and after movie. March 15-18, Miami, FL, "Reason Weekend," sponsored by the Reason Foundation. For information, call Amber Trudgeon at (310) 391-2245 or e-mail ambert@reason.org. March 16 & 17, 8:00pm, Philadelphia, PA, "Outside the Walls," interdisciplinary dance performance reflecting on the lives of families of prisoners. At the Conwell Theater, 5th floor Conwell Hall, Temple University, corner of Montgomery and Broad Streets. Advance ticket sales available through Temple University box office, (215) 204-1122. March 23-24, New York, NY, "Widening Destruction: A Teach-In on the Drug War and Colombia." Four panel, two-day seminar sponsored by NACLA and Colombia Students for Enacting Humane Drug Policies, at Columbia University Law School, 435 West 116th Street (at Amsterdam Avenue). Pre-register online at http://www.nacla.org for $8 through 5:00pm, 3/21, or register on site for $10. Contact Anne Glatz at aeg43@columbia.edu for further information. March 26, 6:00pm, Philadelphia, PA, Hemp Dinner with Richard Rose, of Hempnut, Inc. and author of "The HempNut Health and Cookbook." Book and the Cook night at the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., $45, includes three-course dinner and discussion. Reservations required, RSVP to (215) 386-9224, visit http://www.whitedog.com for further information. April 1-5, New Delhi, India, 12th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm. Sponsored by the International Harm Reduction Coalition, for information visit http://www.ihrc-india2001.org on the web, e-mail showtime@vsnl.com, call 91-11-6237417-18, fax 91-11-6217493 or write to Showtime Events Pvt. Ltd., S-567, Greater Kailash - II, New Delhi 110 048, India. April 9, 7:30pm, Philadelphia, PA, Storytelling Night with Families Against Mandatory Minimums Communications Director Monica Pratt and members of families affected by mandatory minimum sentencing. At the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., optional a la carte dinner at 6:00pm. Call (215) 386-9224 or visit http://www.whitedog.com for further information. April 19-21, Washington, DC, 2001 NORML Conference. Visit http://www.norml.org/calendar/conf2001intro.shtml to register or for further information, or call (202) 483-5500. April 20, 10:00am, Oklahoma City, annual marijuana law reform event, at the State Capitol. Visit information table in 1st floor rotunda to prep for meeting your state legislators, speakers and entertainment on the south side steps at noon. For further information contact Norma Sapp at (405) 321-4619 or ekco@swbell.net. April 25-28, Minneapolis, MN, North American Syringe Exchange Convention. Sponsored by the North American Syringe Exchange Network, for further information call (253) 272-4857, e-mail nasen@seanet.com or visit http://www.nasen.org on the web. At the Marriott City Center Hotel, 30 South Seventh Street. May 20-27, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Study Tour of Dutch Drug Policy, organized by the White Dog Cafe. Particularly for persons with a background in health and social services, legislation, activism, drug law or policy. Call (215) 386-9224 or visit http://www.whitedog.com for further information. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ALERTS: UPDATE: SIT-IN VICTORY AT ITHACA COLLEGE! Thursday, December 6th, 12 am Student Sit-in Leads to Victory; Ithaca College to Re-evaluate Ties to Private Prisons Over 100 Ithaca College students took over their administrative offices on Tuesday, December 5th, beginning a protest which would last more than 34 hours. Seven students occupied the school's admissions office while over 100 others were locked outside the doors, refusing to leave until the college president agreed to meet their demands. As of Wednesday afternoon, after more than 24 hours of protest, Ithaca College President Peggy Williams still had made no attempt to meet with the students. Williams' office staff claimed that she was out of town. In response, the students escalated their tactics. Fourteen additional protesters took over a second building: the Alumni Hall Office. The second building take over came after Ithaca student, Kia Kozun, a participant in the peaceful sit in in the first building, was physically thrown out of the admissions office by President Williams' Administrative Assistant. Kozun had been attempting to speak with media outside the office doors. She stressed that her attempt to address the media was completely non-violent and "should not have solicited such an aggressive and violent response." After taking over the second building, students sitting in the Alumni Hall Offices were able to force a concession from the administration. Late this afternoon, protesters won a long awaited meeting with President Williams. Williams conceded to four major student demands. Students won the right to full participation in the college's review of the Sodexho contract, as well as a guaranteed audience with College Trustees to discuss the contract. The college will also sponsor a community forum to address the issue of Ithaca's relationship with private prisons, and President Williams will personally write a letter addressed to the Sodexho Marriott corporation, as well as the Ithaca College Community, outlining student concerns about Sodexho and private prisons. Kia Kozun, Co-Chair of the Ithaca College YDS chapter said Wednesday evening that she is "very proud of their victory." "It is time that students take action against the socially irresponsible investments the administration has been making with our money. After all, if we are required to pay for our meal plans, we should be able to participate in the decision making process about where our money goes. We will no longer be captive investors in private prisons." The protests were supported by the Young Democratic Socialists as well as the Prison Moratorium Project. Students said that being part of such a broad and diverse organizing network gave the protest tremendous strength. Joey Cronen, another Ithaca College YDS member, commented; "It was powerful to see students and community members come together to help with ad-hoc organizing. Both the rally and the sit-ins showed us that we should never doubt that students can have tremendous power when they stand together." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ March 9-11, 2001, New York, NY, Critical Resistance: Beyond the Prison Industrial Complex. Northeast regional conference, following on the large national gathering in 1998, to focus on the impacts of the prison industrial complex in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, DC. Visit http://www.criticalresistance.org for further information, or call (212) 561-0912 or e-mail critresisteast@aol.com. New Delhi India April 1-5, 2001, New Delhi, India, 12th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm. Sponsored by the International Harm Reduction Coalition, for information visit http://ihrc-india2001.org on the web, e-mail showtime@vsnl.com, call 91-11-6237417-18, fax 91-11-6217493 or write to Showtime Events Pvt. Ltd., S-567, Greater Kailash - II, New Delhi 110 048, India. Minnesota April 25-28, Minneapolis, MN, North American Syringe Exchange Convention. Sponsored by the North American Syringe Exchange Network, for further information call (253) 272-4857, e-mail nasen@seanet.com or visit http://www.nasen.org on the web. At the Marriott City Center Hotel, 30 South Seventh Street. ******************************************************************* Colombia, Mandatory Minimums, California, New York COLOMBIA: In the wake of the late reported El Salado massacre, Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) is circulating a letter to be sent to President Clinton asking that Colombia be decertified for US military assistance -- i.e. the recently passed "Plan Colombia" -- based on continued human rights abuses. Please call your Senators -- use the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be transferred to their offices -- or visit http://www.drcnet.org/stopthehelicopters/ to tell your Senators that Plan Colombia was a terrible mistake and it's time to call it off before it's too late. MANDATORY MINIMUMS: See http://www.drcnet.org/wol/145.html (articles 1 and 2) for information on the Jubilee Justice 2000 campaign to free drug war prisoners and how you can help. Visit http://www.drcnet.org/justice/ to tell Congress you think the mandatory minimums should go! CALIFORNIA: Oppose "Smoke a Joint, Lose Your License" bill -- visit http://www.drcnet.org/states/california/ to write your state legislators. MEDICINAL MARIJUANA USERS MARCH Prisoners Of The Drug War Tiffany Landreth of Dallas worries about becoming a "drug-war prisoner" if arrested for her medical use of marijuana for a chronic back injury from surgery. The 29-year-old woman, riding on an electric scooter, joined about 30 protesters railing against the country's punitive drug policies Friday during a Journey for Justice march through downtown Houston. For the next seven days they will travel to Huntsville and other cities until they end up in Austin next Friday at Gov. George W. Bush's mansion, where more than 100 protesters are expected. Accompanying the group is a flatbed truck carrying a mock jail cell filled with protesters. "I would get the mandatory minimum of five years in prison if I'm ever arrested," said Landreth, who said she buys her marijuana from a physical therapist. The petite, 94-pound woman said the legal synthetic equivalent of marijuana -- pills called Marinol -- have side effects of constipation and nerve problems that her body can't tolerate. "Marijuana numbs the pain and brings my appetite up so I can eat," she said. Other rally participants included several who were HIV-positive like Eddie Smith of Kentucky, who wore his empty medication bottles strung on twine around his neck. "I credit marijuana for saving my life. Marinol is in pill form and when you're nauseous, you can't keep a pill down to do any good," Smith said. "When I smoke a joint, I can take my medicines and I'm able to eat," he said. Ann McCormick said she represents the parents who have lost their children not to drugs, but to prison. Her son, Todd, is now in solitary confinement in California on a marijuana conviction and for testing positive on a drug test while incarcerated. "My son had cancer when he was a kid. He has a spinal fusion, a hip the size of a 9-year-old and liver damage from the chemo," McCormick said. "But the government tells him that he can't take a drug that makes him feel better." The Journey for Justice is the fourth such march in the nation since 1997, said Kay Lee, a 60-year-old who organized the first march. Lee said her quadriplegic friend, Ed Asbury in Ohio, was arrested for growing marijuana plants. He used it for pain management instead of amputating an infected leg, she said. "He said, `I'm so mad. I want to ride my wheelchair to the state capital,' so we did and others joined us," Lee said. Dressed in a black- and white-striped prison outfit for the march in Houston's humid heat, Lee said, "I'm worn out. I want this war to be over. I want to go home and play grandma." Alan Robison, director of the Drug Policy Forum of Texas, said, "The War on Drugs policy is a total failure. It is causing more harm to our society than the drugs ever caused." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cited Links supplied by MAP editor: Journey for Justice, Texas website: http://www.JourneyForJustice.org/texas.html Drug Policy Forum of Texas website, updated daily during the Journey: http://www.dpft.org/ Ann McCormick's website: http://members.home.net/amccormick/ Todd McCormick's new website: http://www.toddmccormick.org/ The first Journey, Dan Asbury: I'm so mad. I want to ride my wheelchair to the state capital: http://gnv.fdt.net/~jrdawson/wheelchairun.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appeals Court Agrees: Drug Tests for Louisiana Officials Unconstitutional Are Louisiana politicians on drugs? Inquiring minds would like to know. The state's new draconian drug testing law requires all people who have anything to do with the state government, including elected state officials, to submit to random drug testing. The problem is that the Supreme Court has already has already ruled conclusively that such drug testing is unconstitutional. A lawyer representing New Orleans Rep. Arthur Morrell, William Rittenberg, opposed the law and was victorious last week when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision by Federal Judge Eldon Fallon which said the law violated Fourth Amendment protections against illegal search and seizure. While this same amendment is routinely suspended in cases where there is a public interest in maintaining mandatory drug tests, in this case two explanations were cited as reasons for upholding the Constitution. First, that there is no evidence of widespread drug use among Louisiana politicians, and second, the law failed to demonstrate how politicians on drugs threaten public safety. Supporters of the law, which include Louisiana Governor Mike Foster, want to take it to the Supreme Court. Graham Boyd, who spearheads drug policy for the American Civil Liberties Union, said proponents of the law are wasting their time. There is "zero chance the Supreme Court will hear the case," he said, because of its similarity to a case two years ago in which the Court already decided against such a law. In 1997, the Court ruled eight-to-one in the case of Chandler vs. Miller that it was unconstitutional for the state of Georgia require all candidates for public office to submit to random drug testing. Chief Justice William Rehnquist provided the only dissenting vote, reasoning that because politicians automatically give up their right to privacy when they run for office, "submitting to a drug test is no big deal." Boyd said the doomed effort to enforce the law is a transparently political exercise by Louisiana politicians who want to be able to say, "If it weren't for the courts and the ACLU, the law would work." The Louisiana drug testing package also includes drug tests for drivers licenses, college scholarships and welfare benefits, making it the most sweeping set of drug testing laws in the nation. None of these controversial proposals has been implemented yet. |
