I decided to thank our President for talking about this important issue.
Here is my latest letter.
April 2, 2015
Mr. Barack Obama
President
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr President,
Thank you for sharing your extraordinary conversation with David Simon. I am continually impressed by the leadership and dedication you have demonstrated as President of the United States. It is inspiring to see you lead on issues which other politicians avoid.
You are providing some hope for those of us who have been impacted by the excesses of the "Drug War". Until recently it seemed that there would be no meaningful review of government policy in this "war". The easy path for typical politicians has been to "get tough" on drugs. The phenomenal growth in the prison population is one obvious result. The fact that there are still people finding and using drugs is inconvenient for those who believe these are Law Enforcement problems. I also thank you for acknowledging the inter-relatedness of all the problems surrounding the prosecution of the "drug war" or as I like to call it, prohibition.
As you and your staff continue the important work of governing, I hope you will see the reality of how far we have gone down this ill-conceived “war-path”, and why it should be discarded. People have created this problem by criminalizing a common behavior. A behavior which does cause problems for society. Compounding those problems by criminalizing what is fundamentally a health issue has only added to the problem.
The main arguments for prohibition have always been moral absolutes against intoxication. Most people (including me) find it difficult to argue in support of intoxication. But the reality is that lasting sobriety only happens by the choice of each individual. Efforts to legislate morality always fall short of achieving their goals. These have historically failed because individuals tend to rebel against being told what they can or can’t do. I'm sure you understand this.
Focusing on the reality that people are still finding ways to procure and ingest harmful substances is instructive. Illustrating how our current laws and policies have failed and will continue to fail is a valid and important point to stress. You have been quite masterful when you point out the failed polices and the results of failed policy.
But the political environment and the established constituencies will continue to make false claims and scare the public away from anything which might dimmish their power. I doubt the DEA would agree to dissolve itself. It is far more likely they would lobby for and win more money for their budget. I believe they have strong allies in Congress. And the DEA is only one agency with a vested interest in the status quo of war.
As you pointed out, this is one issue on which both conservatives and liberals can agree. People are frustrated by government that is unfair and arbitrary. Conservatives constantly complain about programs which fail to solve problems and cannot be ended because of politics. Prohibition is a fine example of this phenomenon. I wish you the best of luck in fixing this problem. I hope congress will somehow rise above petty politics and begin to work toward making our nation better.
I confess that I know very little about the realities of your office. The established customs and procedures which go with your office are probably byzantine and complex beyond my understanding. I do continue to believe that you are a fine leader. With your reasoning and skill in framing arguments and policy I believe you will do what is right for our country.
It would also make a fine statement to grant clemency to all those federal prisoners who are jailed because of marijuana crimes. We seem to be able to agree that non-violent marijuana offenders are not a threat to anyone (but possibly themselves). Keeping them locked up does nothing to make our nation better.
Sincerely yours,
Tom Walters
No comments:
Post a Comment