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Editorial: Winning the Hearts and Minds of the Public David Borden, Executive Director, [EMAIL PROTECTED], 7/6/01 Public opinion on drug policy has shifted noticeably during the past several years that I've been actively observing it. Six or seven years ago, the idea of legalization might have been dismissed by most people as a "hippie" or "druggie" idea. Today, most Americans might not yet be on our side, but at least realize there are "respectable" citizens who agree with us. To be sure, there are still some people who react to the notion of ending drug prohibition as "crazy" or "fringe." They are an increasingly small group, however. Whenever I encounter one of them, there is usually someone else in the room who agrees with me 100 percent, and others who aren't sure but who certainly don't regard my views as off the charts. Still, we're not there yet. The Pew Trust poll a few months ago was not the first to find that Americans, paradoxically, believe the drug war to be a failure but nevertheless continue to support the drug war. Really this means that Americans are ready for a new drug policy, once some alternative that they see as non-frightening is presented to them. Getting to the ultimate necessary goal of ending prohibition itself is another story, and a lot more work needs to be done before that day will arrive. There is no doubt, though, that this is a special time in the issue, an effective time, when our efforts to educate the public, to build our movement, to build bridges with other movements, all are especially effective. The media, the public at large, are all ready to hear our message -- everyone except the politicians, of course, and even a few of them. Focusing on intermediate but emotion-ridden changes like ending mandatory minimum sentencing, stopping the spread of AIDS, opposing US-funded Andean military escalation, can gain us more allies, and more powerful allies, than our cause has had in decades, perhaps ever. A few months back, for example, I was flipping channels, stumbled across the African America-oriented news discussion program "BET Tonight," where I witnessed the stunning sight of Rev. Jesse Jackson calling for drug decriminalization on national television. Yet focusing on the larger issue of prohibition, while perhaps bringing fewer of the high and mighty to the same stage or table immediately, will hasten the day when that more far-reaching change is itself possible or even probable. There is no question that sustained educational outreach, competently crafted and executed, does influence public opinion over the long term: When New Mexico's governor, Gary Johnson, came out for legalization, some people were persuaded and others at least had their minds opened -- the same for Minnesota's Jesse Ventura, or Mexico's president, Vicente Fox, or Uruguay's president, Jorge Batlle, Gov. Patricio Martinez Garcia of the Mexican border state of Chihuahua, etc. And this larger, more fundamental change of ending prohibition is needed: decriminalization, medicalization, sentencing reform, all of them are good, but none are enough. As Great Britain's former ambassador to Colombia editorialized for the newspaper The Guardian (reported below), decriminalization doesn't help the source countries and doesn't provide users a safe or reliable supply. These are just two of the many reasons for full repeal, not mere partial reform. Our movement must strike a skillful balance, cultivating the moderate or hesitant and allying with partial reformers, but without losing focus on the ultimate goal or hiding or backing off from the truths that necessitate it. After all, if the legalizers won't be legalizers, why should or how can world luminaries, powerful but vulnerable as they are? Public opinion will ultimately reward us for that commitment. |
