In the context of Pres. Obama’s recent speech calling for an end to the ‘war on terror,’ may I suggest that we end another long-running war — and consider starting some others?
A friend shared this article with a key quote:
But federal research shows that the average sentence for a first time, non-violent drug offender is longer than the average sentence for rape, child molestation, bank robbery or manslaughter.”
I haven’t seen the study. But if true I think that’s deeply disturbing. It got me thinking about how the ‘war on drugs‘ has warped our society. It has contributed to an increase of violence on both sides of the ‘war.’ It has escalated racially-imbalanced incarceration rates. I suspect it has also spurred the increase in residential segregation by race and class that is so intractable. At every level, it has warped our priorities.
Rather than pushing around the edges of minimum sentencing guidelines and legalization or pseudo-legalization of marijuana, it is time to end the ‘war on drugs’ and develop a public health-centered drug policy.
Still wondering about those new wars I mentioned? Well, take another look at the quotation:
But federal research shows that the average sentence for a first time, non-violent drug offender is longer than the average sentence for rape, child molestation, bank robbery or manslaughter.”
Imagine if, instead of DARE officers visiting elementary schools we had a phalanx of police officers, social workers, and public health professionals asking students to pledge to live a ‘sexual assault-free lifestyle’. What if our high schools were commonly visited by officers or victims rights advocates teaching students how to manage their anger to keep those around them safe? What if, instead of waiting to teach sex-ed when we thought students might voluntarily begin having sex, we focused more attention on ensuring that much younger students could get the help they needed to escape sexual abuse? What impact might that have on our society and on the next generation of adults?*
Now, I’m not really suggesting that we take these issues up as a new ‘war.’ That word itself seems to have the power to corrupt even well-intentioned efforts. Nor am I suggesting that government intervention would solve all of these problems. But we could certainly be doing more, at less expense, than we’ve done in our decades-long drug war.
* On a side note, I had an interesting conversation with a group of middle and high school teachers recently. One of them mentioned their students’ surprise at the political rhetoric of our last presidential election. They interpreted it in the context of all the anti-bullying instruction they have been receiving and felt that many of the political figures had been acting as bullies. In a rare moment of hope for the future, these teachers wondered about the long-term impact of this anti-bullying effort on our future political discourse.