Who Is Really Smuggling Drugs From Mexico Into The US? [AUDIO]

Following is the transcript of an audio news story written and produced by Drug War Facts Editor Doug McVay for the Drug Truth Network. It was broadcast as a 420 Drug War News segment on April 13, 2013.

What you find depends on who you're looking for.
A new report has been released by the Center for Investigative Reporting on smuggling over the US's southwestern border with Mexico. According to the CIR, quote:
“Nearly half of the 81,261 seizures don’t have suspect information available, because the drug loads were abandoned and no one was caught. In the remaining busts – more than 40,000 drug seizures – at least one U.S. citizen was involved 80 percent of the time.” End quote. In fact, the report notes, four out of five of those busted for drugs at the southwest border were US citizens.
Unfortunately there is a widespread perception, certainly among law enforcement, that smuggling of drugs from Mexico mostly involves Mexican nationals and people without proper documentation. As the CIR noted, quote:
“Of nearly 2,000 press releases from the Border Patrol and its parent agency, Customs and Border Protection, between 2005 and 2011 that mentioned a drug-trafficking suspect, 38 percent noted a Mexican national had been arrested. U.S. citizens, meanwhile, were mentioned roughly 30 percent of the time, even though they represent a much higher percentage of those busted, according to the analysis. The remaining one-third of press releases did not include information on the nationality of those caught with drugs.” End quote.
First, some history. In the 1980s, the east coast's Interstate 95 corridor was notorious for cocaine smuggling. I-95 runs from Miami up through DC, Baltimore, Philly, New York City, and the Boston area. Law enforcement claimed to use drug courier profiles to determine who to stop and possibly search on the highways. Activists and civil rights groups were able to show that police were actually stopping a disproportionate number of African-Americans and people of Hispanic descent without stopping significant amounts of drugs. The manner in which the drug laws were investigated and enforced was part of the reason for their failure.
Successful smuggling operations play on those prejudices and biases which afflict border agents and others in law enforcement. We've made progress, but the fact is US law enforcement – the entire criminal justice system really – still suffers from systemic biases based on race, ethnicity, nationality, and socioeconomic status. It was much worse in the 1980s, which is when I first got involved in drug policy reform, but it still exists, and it cripples effective law enforcement. Dealers, brokers, cartels – they know this and they adapted. There's no shortage of American citizens desperate for a pay day – citizens who look middle-aged, middle-class, and respectable because they are – so there's a sizable pool of willing candidates out there looking for the work.
The authorities on the other hand? It's sad. The fact that Customs and Border Protection Agency spokesman William Brooks, with no data, could assert to the CIR reporters that, quote “Anecdotally, we have U.S. citizens who smuggle drugs, in large amounts sometimes. The majority of people involved in smuggling drugs are citizens of Mexico.” end quote, shows we have a long way to go. Hopefully, this report will help get all of us – law enforcement, policy makers, prohibitionists and reformers – to reconsider how we think about Mexico and how we view its people, as well as what we think of those involved in the illegal drug trade.
For the Drug Truth Network, this is Doug McVay with Common Sense for Drug Policy and Drug War Facts.

This piece and many more news items are available to listen and download from the Drug Truth Network website.

Is The US The World's Biggest Jailer? [AUDIO]

Following is the transcript of an audio news story written and produced by Drug War Facts Editor Doug McVay for the Drug Truth Network. It was broadcast on April 6, 2013, as a 420 Drug War News segment.

Everyone by now has heard that the US is the world's biggest jailer, with more people behind bars than any other country.
We've all heard it. Is it true?
The International Centre for Prison Studies, a partner of the University of Essex in the UK, researches global incarceration and regularly publishes the results. Their website at prisonstudies dot org even has a handy tool to make international comparisons easy.
The ICPS reports that in 2011, the US had a prison population of 2,239,751 – enough prisoners to put our nation at the top of the list. Next comes China, with a reported 1,640,000 prisoners. Seems pretty straightforward – except it's not as simple as that.
First, let's unpack the US data. The ICPS is actually lumping prisoners – that is, inmates serving time in prisons – with jail inmates. In the US, we report those numbers separately. That's how a prohibitionist can get away with claiming that few people are ever sent to prison for simple possession of marijuana. People serving time for that offense typically get put in jail, not prison. They're still incarcerated, behind bars, just technically they're not in prison.
Take away the 735,601 held in US jails in 2011, and the remaining US prison population is 1,504,150.
Now let's take a closer look at China.
The ICPS figure of 1,640,000 only represents sentenced prisoners in Chinese Ministry of Justice prisons. It does not include pre-trial detainees, nor does it include people held in administrative detention. In 2009, ICPS reports, the Chinese government admitted to holding more than 650,000 people in detention centers. If that figure held steady through 2012, that would mean a total of 2,300,000 behind bars in China.
So technically, China may actually be number one in terms of sheer numbers.
As far as incarceration rates are concerned however, the US does seem to be way on top. The ICPS web tool also allows comparison of incarceration rates. The US, at 716 inmates per 100,000 population, is well ahead of the next country on the list – the Caribbean islands of St. Kitts and Nevis, with an incarceration rate of 649 per 100,000. China, because of its massive population, has an official incarceration rate of only 121 per 100,000. Adding in those held in administrative detention raises the figure significantly yet it's still nowhere near the US rate.
So the answer is basically Yes. Yet really, it all depends on how you define terms and who you count.
At Drug War Facts dot org, we provide up to date data from the US and around the world, fully cited, with links to the original source material for most of the items. Knowledge is power, so get the facts.
For the Drug Truth Network, this is Doug McVay with Common Sense for Drug Policy and Drug War Facts.

This audio news story as well as many others are available through the Drug Truth Network's website, DrugTruth.net

More African-American Men In College Than Behind Bars

Following is a report I wrote and produced for the Drug Truth Network. It was broadcast as a 420 Drug War News item on March 24, 2013. You can listen to the full audio via the Drug Truth Network website.

Everything changes.
In 2002, the Justice Policy Institute issued a report titled “Cellblocks or Classrooms.”
That report's Finding Number 3 was: “Nearly a third More African American Men Are Incarcerated than in Higher Education.” Often shortened to the more media-friendly “more black men are in prison than college,” JPI has come under fire for that statement in recent years – most notably in the 2012 film by Janks Morton, Hoodwinked, but also by people such as Professor Ivory Toldson of Howard University. In his April 20, 2011 piece in Empower Magazine, “Cellblock vs. College: A Million Reasons There Are More Black Men In College Than In Prison And Why More Work Needs To Be Done,” Professor Toldson writes, quote:
“When reviewing Cellblocks or Classrooms, there’s no evidence that the authors intended to sensationalize problems facing black men in the United States. More meaningful and palatable lines like “choose classrooms over cellblocks” were written with more prominence. Today, the widespread and contentious notion that “there are more black men in jail than in college” is not the fault of the Justice Policy Institute. Rather, it is the fault of journalists looking for a sound bite, politicians trying to arouse a crowd, program managers and researchers who would rather assert the need to exist than to demonstrate the efficacy of their techniques, and the list goes on of people who feel the need to be intentionally provocative. Lost in the feedback are young black men who are trying to reconcile such an ominous conclusion with their reality.”
End quote.
Here then are the numbers.
A search through the Education Department's National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Post‐Secondary Education Data System, IPEDS, finds that in the 2009-2010 school year, there were 1,347,485 Black or African-American male students enrolled in Title IV 2- and 4-year colleges. This includes public as well as private, for-profit and nonprofit schools. This is also only how many were enrolled that year.
The Drug War Facts section on Race and Prison actually has newer data, so looking back at “Prisoners in 2010,” the report by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, we see that in 2010 there were a reported 561,400 non-Hispanic Black males under state and federal jurisdiction. The BJS also reports that there were 283,200 Black/African-American inmates of either gender in local jails that year. So there were a maximum of 844,600 Black/African-American men behind bars that year – many fewer than were in college.
Whether or not JPI was right in making that assertion back in 2002 is in many ways moot. The point is that today, that trite soundbyte is not true.
Things change. If you're an activist, or you engage at all in policy debate, it's important to keep up with these changes and stay current. Up-to-date fact items are always to be found on the Drug War Facts website at Drug War Facts dot org. Be sure to check back from time to time. You can keep track of new fact items as they're added by subscribing to our RSS feed, and also to our newsletter.
Knowledge is power. Get the facts.

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Policing By The Clock [AUDIO] | Common Sense for Drug Policy

Drug War Facts Editor Doug McVay reports for the Drug Truth Network and puts into context new research showing the amount of police time spent enforcing marijuana possession laws.

This 4:20 News report was first broadcast on March 24, 2013, as a segment on the syndicated weekly radio program Cultural Baggage produced in Houston, TX for KPFT-FM.

Research data used in this segment are available at
Drug War Facts, particularly the chapter on Crime. DWF fact items include full citations and where possible a link to the original source materials.

Following is the script. To listen to or download the full audio, please visit the Drug Truth Network.

It's all in the timing.

According to new research, it takes an average of about two-and-a-half hours of police time to make one simple pot possession arrest in New York City. New York is a decriminalized state, so people in NY don't necessarily go to jail just because they got caught in possession - especially if they're a State Assemblyman, but that's another story.

On average, people who get popped for pot in New York City do spend a great deal of time in custody: an average of at least 12 hours, according to this new research by Professor Harry Levine of Queens College, City University of New York. The report was recently released by the Drug Policy Alliance and the Marijuana Arrest Research Project.

Professor Levine found that from 2002 through 2012, the NYPD made a total of 439,056 low-level marijuana possession arrests. They estimated that given an average of 2.5 hours for each arrest – a conservative, low-ball estimate – that comes to 1,097,640 hours of police time over that period, or as it's put in the report, quote:
“That is the equivalent of having 31 police officers working eight hours a day, 365 days a year, for 11 years, making only marijuana possession arrests.” End quote.

That's just New York City, of course. Marijuana is decriminalized in New York state. In many other states, marijuana possession is still considered a real crime.

It's not only the police whose time is taken up by low-level marijuana arrests, there's also the time and resources of the prosecutor, the court, and possibly the jail or probation system.

In 2011, there were 663,032 arrests for simple possession in the entire US. If the rest of the country were like New York City, at just 2.5 hours per arrest, that would work out to 1,657,580 hours of police time in 2011 alone. The report's hypothetical 31 police officers would work the equivalent of eight hours per day, 365 days a year, for more than 18 years to make that many marijuana arrests.

Each year, the FBI reports that US law enforcement manages to clear just under 50% of reported violent crimes and less than 20% of reported property crimes. Those are just the ones that get reported, mind you, and clearance doesn't mean that anyone has been found guilty, only that someone has been indicted.

As legalizers and policy reformers, we're accustomed to being accused by opponents of being soft on crime. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Law enforcement resources are strained, so the question is being asked: Are we using those resources effectively, or is it time for major changes?

For the Drug Truth Network, this is Doug McVay with Common Sense for Drug Policy and Drug War Facts.

Mark Kleiman, Noted Drug Policy Researcher, Expected To Land WA State Marijuana Consulting Contract

I just added this to the Common Sense for Drug Policy blog:
News agencies are reporting that the state of Washington is expected to name Botec Analysis Corp. as its new marijuana consultant. According to the Associated Press on March 18, 2013:

The Washington State Liquor Control Board scheduled an announcement on the award of the contract for Tuesday morning, but it sent an email to losing bidders Monday letting them know who won. A copy of the email was provided to The Associated Press.
Botec is headed by Mark Kleiman, a professor of public policy at UCLA. Kleiman declined to comment Monday afternoon, saying he did not want to pre-empt the board’s public announcement.
Washington and Colorado last year became the first states to pass laws legalizing the recreational use of marijuana and setting up systems of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores where adults over 21 can walk in and buy up to an ounce of heavily taxed cannabis. Sales are expected to begin at the end of the year at the earliest.
The votes left state officials with a daunting task: figuring out how to build a huge pot industry from scratch. The state’s Liquor Control Board must determine how many growers and stores there should be, how much pot should be produced, how it should be packaged, and how it should be tested to ensure people don’t get sick.

AP further reported:

All the while, marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and the Justice Department still has not announced whether it will sue in an effort to block the licensing schemes from taking effect.
Kleiman has previously argued that states can’t legalize the recreational use of marijuana because the federal government would never stand for it.
"Pot dealers nationwide — and from Canada, for that matter — would flock to California to stock up," he wrote in an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times in 2010, when california was considering legalizing marijuana. "There’s no way on earth the federal government is going to tolerate that. Instead, we'd see massive federal busts of California growers and retail dealers, no matter how legal their activity was under state law."
Some drug reform advocates were quick to question his team’s selection.
"You might ask him if he’s either changed his mind or if he intends to advise the state on undermining the will of the voters," Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority, wrote in an email.
The board has advertised for consulting services in four categories. The first is "product and industry knowledge" and requires "at least three years of consulting experience relating to the knowledge of the cannabis industry, including but not limited to product growth, harvesting, packaging, product infusion and product safety."
Other categories cover quality testing, including how to test for levels of THC, the compound that gets marijuana users high; statistical analysis of how much marijuana the state’s licensed growers should produce; and the development of regulations, a category that requires a "strong understanding of state, local or federal government processes," with a law degree preferred.
Botec, founded in the mid-1980s, has previously performed a variety of work with government agencies. It studied the results of an effort to crack down on heroin dealers in Lynn, Mass., and in the early 1990s advised the Office of National Drug Control Policy on drug-demand reduction programs.
Kleiman has written several books on drug policy and crime, including "Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know."

Read more at http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/03/18/wash-picks-mass-firm-for-pot-consultant-contract/rZaUYJsPlKoGkJg9ZblMoM/story.html.

NY Assemblyman Who Voted Against Medical Marijuana Arrested - For Marijuana | Common Sense for Drug Policy

New York State Assemblyman Stephen Katz was arrested for possession of marijuana after being stopped for speeding just south of Albany. The <a href=http://www.lohud.com/article/20130315/NEWS/303150112/Assemblyman-Steve-Katz-ticketed-marijuana-speeding?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage&nclick_check=1">Journal News reported on March 15, 2013</a>, that:

<blockquote><i>
Katz, 59, who was first elected to the state Assembly in 2010, was pulled over for allegedly driving 80 mph in a 65 mph zone at about 10 a.m. Thursday, State Police told Gannett’s Albany Bureau.

He was stopped headed northbound on the Thruway in Coeymans, just south of Albany. The Legislature was in session on Thursday.

When an officer approached the vehicle, the state trooper smelled marijuana, police said. Katz turned over a small bag of what appeared to be marijuana, said State Police spokeswoman Darcy Wells.

“He was alone and cooperative,” Wells said, reading from the police report.

Katz was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and speeding, police said. He was issued an appearance ticket for local court on March 28 at 9 a.m., police said.
</i></blockquote>

Katz's short career in the Assembly includes this notable vote relating to drug policy, again from the Journal News:

<blockquote><i>
Last year, Katz voted against the legalization of medical marijuana in during an Assembly vote on June 13. It passed 91-52, with most Republicans voting against it.
</i></blockquote>

Regulation of Marijuana in Colorado: Task Force Issues Final Report on Implementation of A64 | Common Sense for Drug Policy

Colorado's Task Force on Implementation of Amendment 64 has issued its final report on Regulation of Marijuana in Colorado. Following is from the Executive Summary:

The Task Force recommends that the adult-use marijuana industry be required to have common ownership from seed to sale. This “Vertical Integration” model means that cultivation, processing and manufacturing, and retail sales must be a common enterprise under common ownership. The medical marijuana industry, law enforcement, and state and local regulators all advocated for the Vertical Integration model, to ease implementation and enforcement and to demonstrate to the federal government that Colorado is sticking with a regulatory model that has worked. In embracing the Vertical Integration model, the Task Force attempted to strike a balance between those urging state-owned and operated retail stores to sell marijuana and those endorsing a more entrepreneurial, free market model. The Task Force also recommends that for the first year of licensing, only entities with valid medical marijuana licenses, and those who applied for medical marijuana licenses before December 10, 2012 when Amendment 64 was proclaimed as law, should able to obtain licenses to grow, process and sell adult-use marijuana. The Task Force further recommends that this regulatory framework be revisited after three years to determine if it is the appropriate model for the continued regulation of adult-use marijuana.
Tax and funding recommendations are faithful to the language of Amendment 64 by endorsing a TABOR-referred measure to approve a 15% excise tax, with the first $40 million raised annually dedicated to the state’s school capital construction fund. And yet the Task Force, cognizant of Washington State’s 75% excise tax scheme and the need here in Colorado for an additional funding source to cover the costs of regulating this new industry, implementing consumer safeguards, and establishing youth prevention and treatment programs, also recommends that the Colorado General Assembly consider sending a marijuana sales tax to the ballot for voter approval. In endorsing these two taxes on adult-use marijuana, Task Force members acknowledge the need to keep taxes low enough so as not to encourage a persistent black market in marijuana.

The Task Force's work is completed, yet there is much left to be done. As the report notes:

The Task Force’s recommendations now need to be perfected and implemented by the Colorado General Assembly and the Governor through legislation, by the Attorney General giving guidance to law enforcement and state departments, by the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR), the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the Colorado Department of Agriculture through administrative rulemakings and by Colorado’s local governments enacting time, place, and manner regulations and ordinances.

All the recommendations, and the Task Force's reasoning, are in the final report which is available at www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1251640551979&p=1251640551979&pagename=GovHickenlooper%2FCBONLayout