Century of Lies March 14, 2010
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The failure of Drug War is glaringly obvious to judges, cops, wardens, prosecutors and millions more, now calling for decriminalization, legalization, the end of prohibition. Let us investigate the Century of Lies.
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Dean Becker: Welcome to this edition of Century of Lies. Today we’re producing this in San Francisco California. I am attending the Students for Sensible Drug Policy convention. It’s an international gathering of those youngsters that see this drug war as an absolute failure. We’re going to begin with just a few words from some of the attendees on why they are attending.
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Casey: OK my name is Casey. I am from Boston, Massachusetts. And I am here for the SSDP conference, Students for Sensible Drug Policy. I am vice president of the BU chapter and I just want learn more about changing policy. The war on drugs is a failure and I want to do everything I can to put an end to it. And make a better world.
Dean Becker: Very good, and you ma’am?
Shelly: My name is Shelly I am from Dallas, Texas but I go to school in Boston. So I am here for SSDP as well for the conference just to I think educate myself a little bit more on the economics of it and the involvement of government and just so I can know exactly why it’s failing. Just to understand like the movement and why students are it’s important for us to be involved.
Ashly Barris: Hi my name is Ashly Barris. I am from Illinois, I used to go to Illinois state university in which I was president and used to be vice president as well. And now I am currently attending university of Illinois and I am part of their chapter just as a member. And this is my last semester in school and I have been involved with drug policy for six years now. So I have been to several conferences although never one in San Francisco. So I am just really excited to be in a new place and attending a new conference and getting to see different speakers that I haven’t seen before.
Robbie Wilkinson: My name is Robbie Wilkinson. I am from Illinois. I am the president of university of Illinois SSDP. And what brought me here is the main reason I am in SSDP is harm reduction. And that’s kind of why I am here because I don’t think anyone should die because they don’t know how to use drugs or I want them to be able to properly administer them and stuff like that. So it’s the biggest reason I am in SSDP.
Novia LaGarda: Novia LaGarda from El Paso, Texas and I am here today because well we see we live close to the border in Ciudad, next to ciudad, Juarez and we see what’s going on there and how our drug policies effect all of you know the violence that is taking place. So maybe if we if the United States was more conscious on how our drug policy effects other countries and maybe then things wouldn’t be so bad. So we’re here to to discuss that and learn how we can bring it to our city council and to our community.
Dean Becker: You know recently Gil Kerlikowski the new US drug czar said he doesn’t want to call it a drug war but in Cuidad, Juarez it certainly is, right?
Novia LaGarda: Yes it is a drug war. I mean you have cartels fighting for territory to you know traffic these illegal substances. So I mean it is a war. It’s the drug cartels and then it’s the government against the drug cartels and it’s just it’s a mess and the people are caught in between.
Christopher Peza: My name is Christopher Peza and I am the president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter in Longmont, Colorado, Boulder County, Front Range community college. I’m here because I am running for the board of directors for SSDP. And I got involved with SSDP after I was denied financial aid coming out of high school based on a drug arrest as a minor. And that was about seven years ago. And now that I’m back in school I decided to start up a chapter and start mobilizing people in the community.
And Colorado is pretty much the next forefront for medical marijuana. We have more marijuana dispensaries than liquor stores currently. And it was a really big change in last year at the beginning of last year there were no dispensaries that were out in the open and now there are more than liquor stores and they are everywhere.
So there is this ongoing debate in Colorado currently about how to regulate these dispensaries. Different municipalities are trying different methods. Some municipalities are banning them. Some municipalities are going for all out recreational legalization. So it’s really a whirlwind of efforts out there.
Steve Larsen: Hi my name is Steve Larsen from Kent State University Ohio and I came to San Francisco to the SSD the SSDP national conference. And I would say the main reason why I wanted do this was the get more educated on what we’re all about and be able to like talk to people and people to ask me questions and have the answers for them.
Dean Becker: Alright now there is an underlying reason though that you want to do that. What is that reason?
Steve Larsen: It’s because I think that right now the drug war is just kind of it’s messed up. So it’s something that I’ve like I am feeling more passionate about every day. And so it’s something I want to learn more about it so that I can start the try the do something more about it and not just sit around and watch it happen.
Lee: My name is Lee and I’m from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne in Illinois, southern Illinois. And what brought me here? I’d have to say one it’s in San Francisco it’s just a beautiful city. And at the same time I we’re trying to pass a Good Samaritan policy at U of I and we’re trying to get some advice from the pros on how to do that you know. And I am just willing to support the cause to make drug policy more sensible because I feel it isn’t very sensible right now in our current legislation. So I guess that’s why I am here.
Dan: Well I’m Dan, I’m here from Michigan. And I am here for a lot of reasons. Mostly because I think drug policy the current drug policy in general is very unsustainable. And I think that students have a really unique position in working to change these policies. You know we kind of are able to be [ ] the power so to speak.
We don’t really have a lot of career or reputation that sort of thing to worry about necessarily in our respective towns. I think we have a lot of opportunity to go out there you know research and see what’s going on. And then we have the enthusiasm time, sometimes hopefully and passion to go out there and you know do what’s necessary to make changes to facilitate it.
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Dean Becker: Hi this is Dean Becker. You’re listening to Century of Lies on the Drug Truth Network. I am at the Students for Sensible Drug Policy convention out in San Francisco. It’s going to continue tomorrow but I have got to pre record this for the network to get it out there in time. Let’s get back to the students and the reasons why they are at this conference.
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Dean Becker: OK
Eli Day: Eli Day from Detroit, Michigan representing university of Michigan Ann Arbor campus. We’re basically here to hopefully come up with solutions to restructure drug policy so that it better suits the needs and the interests of the citizens.
Dean Becker: What motivates you to do these things?
Eli Day: Well as far as drug policy is concerned I was sort of indoctrinated with it from my father. But coming from a personal stand point just coming from an inner city and witnessing how these laws have effected have affected just every day common people. And how it sort of targets certain individuals in a sort of the system works against you as opposed to for you sort of embittered me with this passion to sort of just destructuralize and attack on all these rules of these policies that you know aren’t really geared towards helping anyone but politicians.
Jake: So my name is Jake. I’m from Pennsylvania originally. I go to the University of Michigan with Eli. And he basically covered the you know the general purpose of the conference. I am here you know I I think this is our probably our worst domestic and international policy between you know putting kids and jail or ruining their educational possibilities to destroying the lives of cocoa farmers in Peru. I think it’s a wide ranging and it’s destroying America you know one student at a time. So that’s why I am here.
Shawn Heller: Shawn Heller former executive director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy and current board of advisor member and alumni and also civil rights attorney.
Dean Becker: we have over the years seen so much progress in SSDP. More and more chapters, more and more people willing to stand and speak this truth. It seems to be gaining a lot of traction of late. Your thoughts.
Shawn Heller: I couldn’t agree more. It’s amazing to see so many students from all over the country and the world in some instances all gathering in San Francisco for this amazing conference. I couldn’t be prouder or more happy to see the organization really growing in such a wonderful way.
Dean Becker: Alright and we as you indicated people from other countries are now getting on board. They are now attending this conference. What do you see on the horizon perhaps in the next year or two for SSDP and for drug reform in general?
Shawn Heller: Well this has been a very exciting year that’s passed. There has been amazing progress made with medicinal marijuana. And not just in the sense of where things have gone with medical marijuana policy but the move by the federal government to stop prosecuting has just really opened the minds of a lot of people throughout the country.
And enabled them to see a situation where it’s possible that their state would have altered different drug policies than they currently have and I think there is a lot of freedom of thought going along with the progress that’s being made. And I think that it’s impossible to predict where things are going to be going but it seems to be that things are going to be going in a good way and not just for medicinal marijuana but other drug policy issues.
But on the other end of the spectrum as great as the progress has been doing a lot of work throughout out Florida in the department of corrections as a civil rights attorney, it’s going to be a long time and a long road to hoe before there those individuals who are incarcerated throughout Florida that are going to feel the benefits of progress that’s being made.
And that ultimately is where we have got to keep our eye on and our focus because these individuals are suffering every day under conditions that most people couldn’t even conceive of in in department of corrections supervision all throughout the state and country not just in Florida. And you know things you take for granted, decent meals, air conditioning in Florida come the summer. Just there’s a lot to think of and we need to make sure that we keep those people in mind as we proceed and make progress and in roads with respect to drug policy reform.
Dan Goldman: Sure my name is Dan Goldman I am a former director of outreach and alumni for Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a former board member now an alumni. And I am actually once again a student because I am getting my master’s degree at the City College of New York.
And when I was originally an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin Madison I was mentored by Ben Mayzell and so all of the wonderful work that we have done has been directly related to him and all of the other great adults who have helped shepherd SSDP students through their years growing up and becoming seasoned activists and professionals.
Dean Becker: Now what’s your observation? I have been asking you know others what brought them here. But since your time in office here with SSDP what advances have you seen?
Dan Goldman: Oh it’s been incredible. I mean these years now span from now 1999 when I went to Washington DC from Madison with a van full of six or seven other students and we met. There were five SSDP chapters at that time. There were some NORML chapters some kids from other student organizations came from other schools but there were only five SSDP chapters then.
And now we have seen just a tremendous amount of growth and growth not only in the number of chapters and growth in their own professionalism and growth in the number of issues they are willing to tackle but we have seen those initial SSDP students move on and grow and develop on their own and become leaders in their fields in law and medicine and education.
And so we have really gotten to see the wonderful second and third generation students get to enjoy the benefits of having a trail blazing generation start make mistakes and teach those who came after us not to repeat our same mistakes and to make new ones on their own.
Pablo: My name is Pablo. I am from San Antonio, Texas. And I am at this convention to work towards a future where you know drug policy won’t be ridiculous, won’t be absurd won’t be Kafka-esque and we’ll be able to eventually legalize all drugs and have them in a have them in a safe environment, a healthy environment and you know especially a sensible environment because that’s what Students for Sensible Drug Policy work for.
Tom Angel: I am Tom Angel I live in Washington DC and I am currently the media relations director for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and I am a proud alumni of Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
Dean Becker: Well Tom we get to talk on a fairly regular occasion, email at least, and talk about what’s going on in this drug war. We had a recent situation where a member of our group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition was prevented from speaking. How, describe that situation for us and tell us what’s going on with it currently.
Tom Angel: Yeah that’s right. One of our brave active duty police officers named David Ratzer who is, he polices the beat up in Victoria, Canada and he’s been a very active spokesman for LEAP. He’s spoke on many, many occasions for us about the need to legalize and regulate drugs including in front of Canadian senate committee. But most recently he was invited by the city of Victoria to speak at an official city sponsored event on harm reduction in drug policy and he was directly ordered by his police chief not to show up and speak at that event.
So basically what you have is a situation where a member of our organization LEAP was invited by his own city to testify at an important event effect it about issues effecting people in the city and his police chief ordered him not to show up. It’s a gross violation of free speech and civil liberties and we’re working to support Dave as much as we can.
Dean Becker: What as I understand there’s a petitions in support of him. There’s other information available about his situation on our website. Why don’t you point folks towards that?
Tom Angel: Yeah anybody who agrees that this is a violation of David’s civil liberties and agrees that it’s important for police officers who have seen with their own eyes the harms of this drug war to be able to speak about that in public should definitely sign on our petition which is online at www.copssaylegalizedrugs.com/freespeech.
Director SSDP UK: Hi my name is [ ] I am the national director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy in the United Kingdom. I started out SSDP UK with a group of my friends at University of Leeds in 2008. We initially got in to contact with the SSDP network in the United States and they helped us out. We saw SSDP as a very good model for campaigning for drug law reform moving to bring about an end to global drug prohibition.
Dean Becker: Tell me if you will the knowledge the awareness that brought you to these conclusions you have just stated.
Director SSDP UK: Well really it was just seeing a lot I mean I have to say that drug laws in the United Kingdom aren’t as harsh as the United States but I have seen a lot of my friends that have problems of course in the criminal justice system and it it just didn’t help them at all. It just didn’t. It was making their problems worse.I have known a couple of people with multiple sclerosis who have been busted simply for growing cannabis to relieve [ ] symptoms of their condition.
And it’s lots of things. We had a huge heroin problem in the United Kingdom and I I just think that criminalization is not the way to go forward with this and I wish we could adopt a model such as the Swiss model and prescribe heroin to addicts. And it’s just it it just drug policy ties in to so many other issues related to development, international development, human rights and health. And I just don’t think the way we are going about is going to solve any of our society’s drug problems.
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Dean Becker: OK folks you are listening to Century of Lies on the Drug Truth Network. We’re listening to the voices of many of the members and alumni of Students for Sensible Drug Policy who just held their convention, who are holding their convention as we produce this in the city of San Francisco.
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Chris Crane: Sure my name is Chris Crane. I am the organizational development specialist and client manager for Can Be which is a new company that works with clients to establish non profit community oriented dispens… I mean medical cannabis dispensaries in the model of Harborside Health Center, Peace and Medicine.
Dean Becker: Now Chris you were a former exec with Students for Sensible Drug Policy as have been many others who have gone on to work with other reform organizations and just today Steve DeAngelo the head of Harborside was talking to many of the SSDP’ers touring the facility and telling them to keep him in mind that there may be additional opportunities for those with this knowledge base and willing to help change these laws. Your thoughts in that regard.
Chris Crane: Well absolutely SSDP has been and continues to be the biggest source of recruitment for the drug policy reform movement and now additionally the emerging medical cannabis industry. And I think when somebody comes out of Students for Sensible Drug Policy a potential employer either in the industry or in the movement knows that that student having been a member of SSDP has more knowledge on this issue than just about anybody else their age and that they have they’ve demonstrated a dedication to working on this issue. And so really SSDP provides a great pool of potential employees for people who are looking for you know passionate, dedicated and talented reformers.
Dean Becker: Steve DeAngelo was talking about they’re starting to quote clone the Harborside model with an actual facility in San Jose and potentially others in the state and around these states but Can Be is kind of an adjunct to that effort. Tell us what that’s about.
Chris Crane: Sure well Can Be is a management and consulting company and so what we do is if somebody wants to start a medical cannabis dispensary that’s similar to Harborside Health Center or Peace and Medicine which is another of our models in Sebastapol. We will help them we will help them do that. That’s basically what that’s what Can Be is about. So we are a parent company and we have and we offer people support that they need to get a dispensary open.
And we will literally do everything for our clients. So if a client if a client hires us we will help them from the point of lobbying their city council to get a medical cannabis a medical cannabis dispensary ordinance adopted to finding them a facility, negotiating a lease, doing all the property analysis and survey analysis get working on their public relations and their marketing, working at all the contractors. We bring in designers and architects t come and design the facilities and then we hire the contractors to build out the facilities.
And we literally do everything from concept to a fully functional dispensary and we’ll do all of that for our clients. But they have to be the type of clients who who hold the same values that we do when it comes to medical cannabis and when it comes to the the the type of facility that should be dispensing medical cannabis which would be not for profit, community oriented, service oriented dispensaries. And so if somebody wants shares our philosophy and wants to work with us we will get them from point a to point b being fully operational facility.
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Dean Becker: Come with Mr. Eric sterling of the criminal justice policy foundation. We’re looking out across the bay at a beautiful sight that golden gate bridge and there’s a bright ray of hope on the horizon in fact I think it has drug policy is going to ascend very rapidly here soon. You think so?
Eric Sterling: I think that there is tremendous momentum for reform across the country. I have the experience that I call the guy sitting next to me on the airplane phenomenon. Total stranger, never met him before. Sit down; you’re going to have a conversation. I am finding that I don’t have to start talking very much before people say great I am with you. I am really glad to hear that.
This morning at breakfast a woman from Atlanta, Georgia just sitting next to me, what are you here for? O that’s wonderful. So the, it is clear that the American people understand that the war on drugs is a tremendous waste of money. It is a tremendous injustice to a lot of people who are punished harshly. And the political and popular support for it is eroding away like sand being blown off the beach.
Dean Becker: And so true I hear some of the early speakers here at the SSDP conference and they’re talking about this war has been waged in the name of youth and they, they want to refute that and to to challenge that in every way possible. Your thoughts on that.
Eric Sterling: I have been coming to SSDP conferences for many years. This is the biggest conference we’ve had. The number of chapters is over a hundred and fifty right now that are active and vibrant with another fifty ready to sort of join up. We have eighteen candidates for the four seats on our board of directors.
We’ve never had so much involvement. The students are passionate about this and they they you know they they see the changes at the department of justice. They see what’s happening in the state legislatures. They read the accounts in the news. They understand now is the time to get on board this movement for change.
Dean Becker: Alright Eric as always it’s great to see you and folks would like to learn more about the great work you do. Point them to your website.
Dean Becker: OK once again you are listening to Century of Lies on the Drug Truth Network. We have got just enough time to squeeze in a couple more interviews here. Listen up.
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Dean Becker: I am with Jeffrey Conn. He is with the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative attending this conference and sir you have taken the pulse of these attendees. What have you perceived?
Conn: I think they are here for drug policy reform. They know the terrible toll that the war on drugs has taken on their generation, the DARE generation, and how how much things need to change. So they’re here to share their activism to try and change America’s drug policy laws.
Dean Becker: Now that’s what the interfaith drug policy initiative is doing as well to try to enlighten people to the truth, the full truth, of this matter, right?
Conn: Exactly, especially working in the faith community so that people can see the true damage that our drug policy laws have done. I mean American family, minorities and all Americans and it’s time to to to change policy and to to change the way that we deal with drugs.
Dean Becker: It’s not just the Jewish faith it’s across many faiths, this desire, correct?
Conn: Absolutely. You know we are an interfaith organization so we work across the faith spectrum in all communities to help unite people in changing America’s drug laws.
Dean Becker: Yes sir, now if folks would like to learn more about the facts of this matter and about the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative please point where they can go on the web.
Conn: Certainly they can come to our website which is idpi.us, Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative and find out more and contact us in Washington. We’d love to hear from people and to help any way we can.
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Dean Becker: On the first day of the SSDP conference, on the first panel the first stage was Mr. Paul Armentano of NORML and as usual Paul kicked ass. Here is a little interview I did with him. Paul is one of the co-authors of the great new book Marijuana is Safer So why are we Driving People to Drink?
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Dean Becker: SSDP conference. You had them rocking in the aisles. I’m going to call on you to summarize that great presentation down to a much shorter extract if you will. Paul what were we talk what were you presenting on stage?
Paul Armentano: Well the good folks at SSDP asked me to speak on why young people really need to play a pivotal role in bringing about the end of marijuana prohibition. And if for no other reason and there’s many good reasons why young people need to get involved in with this issue but the reason that I think leads all of them is simply self preservation.
The war on marijuana is really just a war on young people. It always has been and it continues to be. So for no other reason than young people need to preserve the health and the safety of their friends, themselves is why they need to get involved and bring about their own liberation.
The other point that young people really need to make when they’re battling this issue is that for so long the drug warriors have tried to scapegoat youth. When they are asked to defend these failed policies they’ll often say it’s about protecting young people. This is for the good of young people.
It’s not for the good of young people. It’s harming young people. It’s destroying younger generations and young people need to stand up and say no longer are you going to fight this battle in our name. We’re not going to be the scapegoats for your failed policies.
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Dean Becker: Here with Mr. Mason DeVert he’s one of the co-authors of Marijuana is Safer so why are we Driving People to Drink? He’s also a long time proponent of safer and changing our marijuana laws to show that alcohol is far more deadly. What the hell are we thinking right Mason?
Mason DeVert: Yeah, absolutely every objective study on marijuana has found that it is far safer than alcohol yet a lot of people in our country and around the world still think of marijuana as something that’s just too dangerous to make legal. And until we get them to understand the nature of marijuana, the science of it, the fact that it is not that harmful; it’s safer than a substance millions of Americans use responsibly - we’re not going to see these laws change. So we really need to get that message out.
Dean Becker: Well you know the the thought and very truthful thought has been bandied about a lot this morning that this war on drugs in particular the war on marijuana is a war on our youth.
Mason DeVert: Well yeah no absolutely I mean number one there’s more younger people who are using marijuana than older people. There’s also younger people are in a position where they have far more consequences in many cases losing financial aid, being disciplined in a fashion that will effect their future you know permanent criminal record, all those things.
But in from our perspective one of the other big issues here is that we’re making our society far, far less safe particularly college campuses and surrounding communities by limiting them to alcohol only partying policies. I mean we basically in the college environment say go out drink but please try to be responsible.
Yet why is it that a college student can’t simply use marijuana responsibly and and it contributes to far fewer problems than alcohol. And by you know prohibiting marijuana, allowing alcohol use and even encouraging it in some cases; we’re really driving students to drink and creating a lot of the trouble on college campuses that we could be avoiding.
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Dean Becker: Well I hope you enjoyed this edition of Century of Lies and will check out our latest Cultural Baggage to learn more about Oaksterdam, the cannabis training center And as always I remind you once again there is no truth, justice, logic, scientific fact, medical data, no reason for this drug war to exist. We’ve been duped. Please visit our website, endprohibition.org.
Prohibido istac evilesco.
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For the Drug Truth Network this is Dean Becker, asking you to examine our policy of drug prohibition.
The Century of Lies
This show produced at the Pacifica studios of KPFT, Houston
Transcript
Century of Lies March 14, 2010
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The failure of Drug War is glaringly obvious to judges, cops, wardens, prosecutors and millions more, now calling for decriminalization, legalization, the end of prohibition. Let us investigate the Century of Lies.
_______________________
Dean Becker: Welcome to this edition of Century of Lies. Today we’re producing this in San Francisco California. I am attending the Students for Sensible Drug Policy convention. It’s an international gathering of those youngsters that see this drug war as an absolute failure. We’re going to begin with just a few words from some of the attendees on why they are attending.
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Casey: OK my name is Casey. I am from Boston, Massachusetts. And I am here for the SSDP conference, Students for Sensible Drug Policy. I am vice president of the BU chapter and I just want learn more about changing policy. The war on drugs is a failure and I want to do everything I can to put an end to it. And make a better world.
Dean Becker: Very good, and you ma’am?
Shelly: My name is Shelly I am from Dallas, Texas but I go to school in Boston. So I am here for SSDP as well for the conference just to I think educate myself a little bit more on the economics of it and the involvement of government and just so I can know exactly why it’s failing. Just to understand like the movement and why students are it’s important for us to be involved.
Ashly Barris: Hi my name is Ashly Barris. I am from Illinois, I used to go to Illinois state university in which I was president and used to be vice president as well. And now I am currently attending university of Illinois and I am part of their chapter just as a member. And this is my last semester in school and I have been involved with drug policy for six years now. So I have been to several conferences although never one in San Francisco. So I am just really excited to be in a new place and attending a new conference and getting to see different speakers that I haven’t seen before.
Robbie Wilkinson: My name is Robbie Wilkinson. I am from Illinois. I am the president of university of Illinois SSDP. And what brought me here is the main reason I am in SSDP is harm reduction. And that’s kind of why I am here because I don’t think anyone should die because they don’t know how to use drugs or I want them to be able to properly administer them and stuff like that. So it’s the biggest reason I am in SSDP.
Novia LaGarda: Novia LaGarda from El Paso, Texas and I am here today because well we see we live close to the border in Ciudad, next to ciudad, Juarez and we see what’s going on there and how our drug policies effect all of you know the violence that is taking place. So maybe if we if the United States was more conscious on how our drug policy effects other countries and maybe then things wouldn’t be so bad. So we’re here to to discuss that and learn how we can bring it to our city council and to our community.
Dean Becker: You know recently Gil Kerlikowski the new US drug czar said he doesn’t want to call it a drug war but in Cuidad, Juarez it certainly is, right?
Novia LaGarda: Yes it is a drug war. I mean you have cartels fighting for territory to you know traffic these illegal substances. So I mean it is a war. It’s the drug cartels and then it’s the government against the drug cartels and it’s just it’s a mess and the people are caught in between.
Christopher Peza: My name is Christopher Peza and I am the president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter in Longmont, Colorado, Boulder County, Front Range community college. I’m here because I am running for the board of directors for SSDP. And I got involved with SSDP after I was denied financial aid coming out of high school based on a drug arrest as a minor. And that was about seven years ago. And now that I’m back in school I decided to start up a chapter and start mobilizing people in the community.
And Colorado is pretty much the next forefront for medical marijuana. We have more marijuana dispensaries than liquor stores currently. And it was a really big change in last year at the beginning of last year there were no dispensaries that were out in the open and now there are more than liquor stores and they are everywhere.
So there is this ongoing debate in Colorado currently about how to regulate these dispensaries. Different municipalities are trying different methods. Some municipalities are banning them. Some municipalities are going for all out recreational legalization. So it’s really a whirlwind of efforts out there.
Steve Larsen: Hi my name is Steve Larsen from Kent State University Ohio and I came to San Francisco to the SSD the SSDP national conference. And I would say the main reason why I wanted do this was the get more educated on what we’re all about and be able to like talk to people and people to ask me questions and have the answers for them.
Dean Becker: Alright now there is an underlying reason though that you want to do that. What is that reason?
Steve Larsen: It’s because I think that right now the drug war is just kind of it’s messed up. So it’s something that I’ve like I am feeling more passionate about every day. And so it’s something I want to learn more about it so that I can start the try the do something more about it and not just sit around and watch it happen.
Lee: My name is Lee and I’m from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne in Illinois, southern Illinois. And what brought me here? I’d have to say one it’s in San Francisco it’s just a beautiful city. And at the same time I we’re trying to pass a Good Samaritan policy at U of I and we’re trying to get some advice from the pros on how to do that you know. And I am just willing to support the cause to make drug policy more sensible because I feel it isn’t very sensible right now in our current legislation. So I guess that’s why I am here.
Dan: Well I’m Dan, I’m here from Michigan. And I am here for a lot of reasons. Mostly because I think drug policy the current drug policy in general is very unsustainable. And I think that students have a really unique position in working to change these policies. You know we kind of are able to be [ ] the power so to speak.
We don’t really have a lot of career or reputation that sort of thing to worry about necessarily in our respective towns. I think we have a lot of opportunity to go out there you know research and see what’s going on. And then we have the enthusiasm time, sometimes hopefully and passion to go out there and you know do what’s necessary to make changes to facilitate it.
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Dean Becker: Hi this is Dean Becker. You’re listening to Century of Lies on the Drug Truth Network. I am at the Students for Sensible Drug Policy convention out in San Francisco. It’s going to continue tomorrow but I have got to pre record this for the network to get it out there in time. Let’s get back to the students and the reasons why they are at this conference.
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Dean Becker: OK
Eli Day: Eli Day from Detroit, Michigan representing university of Michigan Ann Arbor campus. We’re basically here to hopefully come up with solutions to restructure drug policy so that it better suits the needs and the interests of the citizens.
Dean Becker: What motivates you to do these things?
Eli Day: Well as far as drug policy is concerned I was sort of indoctrinated with it from my father. But coming from a personal stand point just coming from an inner city and witnessing how these laws have effected have affected just every day common people. And how it sort of targets certain individuals in a sort of the system works against you as opposed to for you sort of embittered me with this passion to sort of just destructuralize and attack on all these rules of these policies that you know aren’t really geared towards helping anyone but politicians.
Jake: So my name is Jake. I’m from Pennsylvania originally. I go to the University of Michigan with Eli. And he basically covered the you know the general purpose of the conference. I am here you know I I think this is our probably our worst domestic and international policy between you know putting kids and jail or ruining their educational possibilities to destroying the lives of cocoa farmers in Peru. I think it’s a wide ranging and it’s destroying America you know one student at a time. So that’s why I am here.
Shawn Heller: Shawn Heller former executive director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy and current board of advisor member and alumni and also civil rights attorney.
Dean Becker: we have over the years seen so much progress in SSDP. More and more chapters, more and more people willing to stand and speak this truth. It seems to be gaining a lot of traction of late. Your thoughts.
Shawn Heller: I couldn’t agree more. It’s amazing to see so many students from all over the country and the world in some instances all gathering in San Francisco for this amazing conference. I couldn’t be prouder or more happy to see the organization really growing in such a wonderful way.
Dean Becker: Alright and we as you indicated people from other countries are now getting on board. They are now attending this conference. What do you see on the horizon perhaps in the next year or two for SSDP and for drug reform in general?
Shawn Heller: Well this has been a very exciting year that’s passed. There has been amazing progress made with medicinal marijuana. And not just in the sense of where things have gone with medical marijuana policy but the move by the federal government to stop prosecuting has just really opened the minds of a lot of people throughout the country.
And enabled them to see a situation where it’s possible that their state would have altered different drug policies than they currently have and I think there is a lot of freedom of thought going along with the progress that’s being made. And I think that it’s impossible to predict where things are going to be going but it seems to be that things are going to be going in a good way and not just for medicinal marijuana but other drug policy issues.
But on the other end of the spectrum as great as the progress has been doing a lot of work throughout out Florida in the department of corrections as a civil rights attorney, it’s going to be a long time and a long road to hoe before there those individuals who are incarcerated throughout Florida that are going to feel the benefits of progress that’s being made.
And that ultimately is where we have got to keep our eye on and our focus because these individuals are suffering every day under conditions that most people couldn’t even conceive of in in department of corrections supervision all throughout the state and country not just in Florida. And you know things you take for granted, decent meals, air conditioning in Florida come the summer. Just there’s a lot to think of and we need to make sure that we keep those people in mind as we proceed and make progress and in roads with respect to drug policy reform.
Dan Goldman: Sure my name is Dan Goldman I am a former director of outreach and alumni for Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a former board member now an alumni. And I am actually once again a student because I am getting my master’s degree at the City College of New York.
And when I was originally an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin Madison I was mentored by Ben Mayzell and so all of the wonderful work that we have done has been directly related to him and all of the other great adults who have helped shepherd SSDP students through their years growing up and becoming seasoned activists and professionals.
Dean Becker: Now what’s your observation? I have been asking you know others what brought them here. But since your time in office here with SSDP what advances have you seen?
Dan Goldman: Oh it’s been incredible. I mean these years now span from now 1999 when I went to Washington DC from Madison with a van full of six or seven other students and we met. There were five SSDP chapters at that time. There were some NORML chapters some kids from other student organizations came from other schools but there were only five SSDP chapters then.
And now we have seen just a tremendous amount of growth and growth not only in the number of chapters and growth in their own professionalism and growth in the number of issues they are willing to tackle but we have seen those initial SSDP students move on and grow and develop on their own and become leaders in their fields in law and medicine and education.
And so we have really gotten to see the wonderful second and third generation students get to enjoy the benefits of having a trail blazing generation start make mistakes and teach those who came after us not to repeat our same mistakes and to make new ones on their own.
Pablo: My name is Pablo. I am from San Antonio, Texas. And I am at this convention to work towards a future where you know drug policy won’t be ridiculous, won’t be absurd won’t be Kafka-esque and we’ll be able to eventually legalize all drugs and have them in a have them in a safe environment, a healthy environment and you know especially a sensible environment because that’s what Students for Sensible Drug Policy work for.
Tom Angel: I am Tom Angel I live in Washington DC and I am currently the media relations director for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and I am a proud alumni of Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
Dean Becker: Well Tom we get to talk on a fairly regular occasion, email at least, and talk about what’s going on in this drug war. We had a recent situation where a member of our group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition was prevented from speaking. How, describe that situation for us and tell us what’s going on with it currently.
Tom Angel: Yeah that’s right. One of our brave active duty police officers named David Ratzer who is, he polices the beat up in Victoria, Canada and he’s been a very active spokesman for LEAP. He’s spoke on many, many occasions for us about the need to legalize and regulate drugs including in front of Canadian senate committee. But most recently he was invited by the city of Victoria to speak at an official city sponsored event on harm reduction in drug policy and he was directly ordered by his police chief not to show up and speak at that event.
So basically what you have is a situation where a member of our organization LEAP was invited by his own city to testify at an important event effect it about issues effecting people in the city and his police chief ordered him not to show up. It’s a gross violation of free speech and civil liberties and we’re working to support Dave as much as we can.
Dean Becker: What as I understand there’s a petitions in support of him. There’s other information available about his situation on our website. Why don’t you point folks towards that?
Tom Angel: Yeah anybody who agrees that this is a violation of David’s civil liberties and agrees that it’s important for police officers who have seen with their own eyes the harms of this drug war to be able to speak about that in public should definitely sign on our petition which is online at www.copssaylegalizedrugs.com/freespeech.
Director SSDP UK: Hi my name is [ ] I am the national director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy in the United Kingdom. I started out SSDP UK with a group of my friends at University of Leeds in 2008. We initially got in to contact with the SSDP network in the United States and they helped us out. We saw SSDP as a very good model for campaigning for drug law reform moving to bring about an end to global drug prohibition.
Dean Becker: Tell me if you will the knowledge the awareness that brought you to these conclusions you have just stated.
Director SSDP UK: Well really it was just seeing a lot I mean I have to say that drug laws in the United Kingdom aren’t as harsh as the United States but I have seen a lot of my friends that have problems of course in the criminal justice system and it it just didn’t help them at all. It just didn’t. It was making their problems worse.I have known a couple of people with multiple sclerosis who have been busted simply for growing cannabis to relieve [ ] symptoms of their condition.
And it’s lots of things. We had a huge heroin problem in the United Kingdom and I I just think that criminalization is not the way to go forward with this and I wish we could adopt a model such as the Swiss model and prescribe heroin to addicts. And it’s just it it just drug policy ties in to so many other issues related to development, international development, human rights and health. And I just don’t think the way we are going about is going to solve any of our society’s drug problems.
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Dean Becker: OK folks you are listening to Century of Lies on the Drug Truth Network. We’re listening to the voices of many of the members and alumni of Students for Sensible Drug Policy who just held their convention, who are holding their convention as we produce this in the city of San Francisco.
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Chris Crane: Sure my name is Chris Crane. I am the organizational development specialist and client manager for Can Be which is a new company that works with clients to establish non profit community oriented dispens… I mean medical cannabis dispensaries in the model of Harborside Health Center, Peace and Medicine.
Dean Becker: Now Chris you were a former exec with Students for Sensible Drug Policy as have been many others who have gone on to work with other reform organizations and just today Steve DeAngelo the head of Harborside was talking to many of the SSDP’ers touring the facility and telling them to keep him in mind that there may be additional opportunities for those with this knowledge base and willing to help change these laws. Your thoughts in that regard.
Chris Crane: Well absolutely SSDP has been and continues to be the biggest source of recruitment for the drug policy reform movement and now additionally the emerging medical cannabis industry. And I think when somebody comes out of Students for Sensible Drug Policy a potential employer either in the industry or in the movement knows that that student having been a member of SSDP has more knowledge on this issue than just about anybody else their age and that they have they’ve demonstrated a dedication to working on this issue. And so really SSDP provides a great pool of potential employees for people who are looking for you know passionate, dedicated and talented reformers.
Dean Becker: Steve DeAngelo was talking about they’re starting to quote clone the Harborside model with an actual facility in San Jose and potentially others in the state and around these states but Can Be is kind of an adjunct to that effort. Tell us what that’s about.
Chris Crane: Sure well Can Be is a management and consulting company and so what we do is if somebody wants to start a medical cannabis dispensary that’s similar to Harborside Health Center or Peace and Medicine which is another of our models in Sebastapol. We will help them we will help them do that. That’s basically what that’s what Can Be is about. So we are a parent company and we have and we offer people support that they need to get a dispensary open.
And we will literally do everything for our clients. So if a client if a client hires us we will help them from the point of lobbying their city council to get a medical cannabis a medical cannabis dispensary ordinance adopted to finding them a facility, negotiating a lease, doing all the property analysis and survey analysis get working on their public relations and their marketing, working at all the contractors. We bring in designers and architects t come and design the facilities and then we hire the contractors to build out the facilities.
And we literally do everything from concept to a fully functional dispensary and we’ll do all of that for our clients. But they have to be the type of clients who who hold the same values that we do when it comes to medical cannabis and when it comes to the the the type of facility that should be dispensing medical cannabis which would be not for profit, community oriented, service oriented dispensaries. And so if somebody wants shares our philosophy and wants to work with us we will get them from point a to point b being fully operational facility.
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Dean Becker: Come with Mr. Eric sterling of the criminal justice policy foundation. We’re looking out across the bay at a beautiful sight that golden gate bridge and there’s a bright ray of hope on the horizon in fact I think it has drug policy is going to ascend very rapidly here soon. You think so?
Eric Sterling: I think that there is tremendous momentum for reform across the country. I have the experience that I call the guy sitting next to me on the airplane phenomenon. Total stranger, never met him before. Sit down; you’re going to have a conversation. I am finding that I don’t have to start talking very much before people say great I am with you. I am really glad to hear that.
This morning at breakfast a woman from Atlanta, Georgia just sitting next to me, what are you here for? O that’s wonderful. So the, it is clear that the American people understand that the war on drugs is a tremendous waste of money. It is a tremendous injustice to a lot of people who are punished harshly. And the political and popular support for it is eroding away like sand being blown off the beach.
Dean Becker: And so true I hear some of the early speakers here at the SSDP conference and they’re talking about this war has been waged in the name of youth and they, they want to refute that and to to challenge that in every way possible. Your thoughts on that.
Eric Sterling: I have been coming to SSDP conferences for many years. This is the biggest conference we’ve had. The number of chapters is over a hundred and fifty right now that are active and vibrant with another fifty ready to sort of join up. We have eighteen candidates for the four seats on our board of directors.
We’ve never had so much involvement. The students are passionate about this and they they you know they they see the changes at the department of justice. They see what’s happening in the state legislatures. They read the accounts in the news. They understand now is the time to get on board this movement for change.
Dean Becker: Alright Eric as always it’s great to see you and folks would like to learn more about the great work you do. Point them to your website.
Eric Sterling: The main website www.cjpf.org.
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Dean Becker: OK once again you are listening to Century of Lies on the Drug Truth Network. We have got just enough time to squeeze in a couple more interviews here. Listen up.
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Dean Becker: I am with Jeffrey Conn. He is with the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative attending this conference and sir you have taken the pulse of these attendees. What have you perceived?
Conn: I think they are here for drug policy reform. They know the terrible toll that the war on drugs has taken on their generation, the DARE generation, and how how much things need to change. So they’re here to share their activism to try and change America’s drug policy laws.
Dean Becker: Now that’s what the interfaith drug policy initiative is doing as well to try to enlighten people to the truth, the full truth, of this matter, right?
Conn: Exactly, especially working in the faith community so that people can see the true damage that our drug policy laws have done. I mean American family, minorities and all Americans and it’s time to to to change policy and to to change the way that we deal with drugs.
Dean Becker: It’s not just the Jewish faith it’s across many faiths, this desire, correct?
Conn: Absolutely. You know we are an interfaith organization so we work across the faith spectrum in all communities to help unite people in changing America’s drug laws.
Dean Becker: Yes sir, now if folks would like to learn more about the facts of this matter and about the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative please point where they can go on the web.
Conn: Certainly they can come to our website which is idpi.us, Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative and find out more and contact us in Washington. We’d love to hear from people and to help any way we can.
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Dean Becker: On the first day of the SSDP conference, on the first panel the first stage was Mr. Paul Armentano of NORML and as usual Paul kicked ass. Here is a little interview I did with him. Paul is one of the co-authors of the great new book Marijuana is Safer So why are we Driving People to Drink?
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Dean Becker: SSDP conference. You had them rocking in the aisles. I’m going to call on you to summarize that great presentation down to a much shorter extract if you will. Paul what were we talk what were you presenting on stage?
Paul Armentano: Well the good folks at SSDP asked me to speak on why young people really need to play a pivotal role in bringing about the end of marijuana prohibition. And if for no other reason and there’s many good reasons why young people need to get involved in with this issue but the reason that I think leads all of them is simply self preservation.
The war on marijuana is really just a war on young people. It always has been and it continues to be. So for no other reason than young people need to preserve the health and the safety of their friends, themselves is why they need to get involved and bring about their own liberation.
The other point that young people really need to make when they’re battling this issue is that for so long the drug warriors have tried to scapegoat youth. When they are asked to defend these failed policies they’ll often say it’s about protecting young people. This is for the good of young people.
It’s not for the good of young people. It’s harming young people. It’s destroying younger generations and young people need to stand up and say no longer are you going to fight this battle in our name. We’re not going to be the scapegoats for your failed policies.
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Dean Becker: Here with Mr. Mason DeVert he’s one of the co-authors of Marijuana is Safer so why are we Driving People to Drink? He’s also a long time proponent of safer and changing our marijuana laws to show that alcohol is far more deadly. What the hell are we thinking right Mason?
Mason DeVert: Yeah, absolutely every objective study on marijuana has found that it is far safer than alcohol yet a lot of people in our country and around the world still think of marijuana as something that’s just too dangerous to make legal. And until we get them to understand the nature of marijuana, the science of it, the fact that it is not that harmful; it’s safer than a substance millions of Americans use responsibly - we’re not going to see these laws change. So we really need to get that message out.
Dean Becker: Well you know the the thought and very truthful thought has been bandied about a lot this morning that this war on drugs in particular the war on marijuana is a war on our youth.
Mason DeVert: Well yeah no absolutely I mean number one there’s more younger people who are using marijuana than older people. There’s also younger people are in a position where they have far more consequences in many cases losing financial aid, being disciplined in a fashion that will effect their future you know permanent criminal record, all those things.
But in from our perspective one of the other big issues here is that we’re making our society far, far less safe particularly college campuses and surrounding communities by limiting them to alcohol only partying policies. I mean we basically in the college environment say go out drink but please try to be responsible.
Yet why is it that a college student can’t simply use marijuana responsibly and and it contributes to far fewer problems than alcohol. And by you know prohibiting marijuana, allowing alcohol use and even encouraging it in some cases; we’re really driving students to drink and creating a lot of the trouble on college campuses that we could be avoiding.
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Dean Becker: Well I hope you enjoyed this edition of Century of Lies and will check out our latest Cultural Baggage to learn more about Oaksterdam, the cannabis training center And as always I remind you once again there is no truth, justice, logic, scientific fact, medical data, no reason for this drug war to exist. We’ve been duped. Please visit our website, endprohibition.org.
Prohibido istac evilesco.
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For the Drug Truth Network this is Dean Becker, asking you to examine our policy of drug prohibition.
The Century of Lies
This show produced at the Pacifica studios of KPFT, Houston