If there's
any doubt that the country is awash in illegal drugs, Americans need
look no further than their wallets: 79% of US paper currency circulating
in this country carries detectable amounts of cocaine.1 And
headlines heralding seizure of tons of marijuana, heroin, cocaine, or
other drugs are not signs of successfully fighting the "War on
Drugs"; instead, such drug seizure is a sign of failure--proof
that illegal drugs are being found in ever-increasing amounts within
our borders.
A lively
narrative filled with similarly provocative insight, Judge James P Gray's
book details how current US drug laws have created a wonderland of unintended
consequences. The book also pleads for acute change in the direction
of these laws. As a 20-year veteran of the Superior Court in Orange
County, CA, Judge Gray writes from the front line in the War on Drugs--a
futile battle, which, he maintains, has to date mostly been prosecuted
against drug users instead of suppliers. As a result, the laws have
successfully filled ever-growing numbers of prisons across the country
with nonviolent drug offenders while both availability of drugs and
the criminal activity surrounding them continue to escalate.
Gray's
account of the endless stream of drug offenders into the nation's prisons
yields some astounding statistics. For example, the incarceration rate
in the United States is higher than in any other country except Russia.
This statistic is largely a result of jailing drug users: 58% of federal
prisoners are serving time for drug offenses. One of every 150 Americans
is in jail at any one time--and this number is growing. As a result,
one in 20 white Americans and one in four black Americans will be jailed
sometime during their lifetime.
One of
Judge Gray's examples of unintended consequences is that our main method
of getting tough on drugs--trying to "incarcerate ourselves out
of the problem"--has resulted in leniency for more violent criminals:
The combination of overcrowded prisons and laws that specifically require
drug offenders to serve full sentences has allowed criminals serving
time for violent offenses to be granted early release to make room for
more drug offenders. This result occurs because, unlike the rule governing
drug offenses in many juris
dictions, serving a full sentence is not mandatory for many violent
crimes (eg, bank robbery and kidnapping).
In fact,
according to Judge Gray, one of the only laws that has functioned as
expected in the War on Drugs is the law of supply and demand: Largely
due to drug prohibition, the driving force in the increasing drug problem
is the huge profit which accompanies drug trafficking.
Why
Our Drug Laws Have Failed is intellectually stimulating and rivals
the 2000 film Traffic in illustrating the pervasiveness of the
drug problem in America. After reading the book, one finds it difficult
to identify any aspect of American life that has not been corrupted
by both our country's drug problem and our chosen method of combating
it. The enormous profits to be reaped from drug trafficking have encouraged
creation of youth gangs, corruption of law enforcement officials, and
a dramatic increase in crime rates. At the same time, the ever-escalating
War on Drugs also has had negative effects: Channeling resources away
from prosecution of other crimes; threatening the environmental health
of developing countries by using toxic herbicides to eradicate drug-producing
plants; and, in the name of drug interdiction, stripping civil rights
from many US citizens in a way unlike any other pre-September 11 law
enforcement initiative.
Judge
Gray's book presents an insider's view backed by quotes from many other
judges across the country who echo his desperation in the fight against
illegal drugs. The book goes beyond the standard call for blanket legalization
of all drugs, a call based solely on comparison with the failed prohibition
on alcohol. The author digs deeper, tracing historical idiosyncrasies
that have created the current situation. According to Judge Gray, original
drug laws were " fundamentally racist laws aimed at perceived threats
to white women [from the use of cocaine, marijuana, and opium ] by black,
Mexican, and Chinese men, respectively;"2:p20 and in
the decades since, US Presidents and the US Congress have continued
to pass stringent laws--and when these laws fail, to pass more of the
same--so as to gain the political benefits of "getting tough on
drugs." Judge Gray also describes "the Prison-Industrial complex"--prison-building
industries combined with the bureaucracies running the prisons---as
a self-interested force that practices political opportunism in perpetuating
the status quo.
Dividing
the book into two roughly equal parts (as suggested by the title), Gray
performs best in the first part: How the War on Drugs is failing. Probably
because it lacks concrete examples of success, the second half of the
book--the part that discusses what we can do about drug abuse--is less
satisfying. Judge Gray outlines specific strategies for education, mandatory
drug treatment, needle exchange, and drug decriminalization as steps
toward a solution. In particular, he emphasizes education--but not the
"Just Say No" variety. Instead, he argues for a more realistic,
truthful approach that recognizes drug use as part of the culture and
that portrays drug use as risky, harmful, and unattractive--an educational
approach similar to that taken in current antitobacco campaigns.
For Judge
Gray, drug decriminalization--a big step toward removing the profit
from drug trafficking--would restrict and regulate drug sales instead
of prohibiting them outright. Here his argument is buttressed by the
apparently arbitrary line between some legally prescribed drugs (eg,
tranquilizers) and illicit, "street" drugs. Although Judge
Gray cites some successful examples of these approaches in other countries,
no currently successful comprehensive model exists; and, as the second
section of the book makes clear, changing our approach to the drug problem
will ultimately require "a leap of faith," ie, a willingness
to try creative new strategies.
Although
included in Judge Gray's list of options, continuing to escalate the
current War on Drugs is one option that, as the book clearly shows,
is not viable. If the book attracts enough readers, its well-reasoned
and convincing arguments may help increase the ranks of drug antiprohibitionists
beyond the libertarian fringe and could draw a coalition of drug law
reformists from all political quarters. Judging from the wide spectrum
of support for the book--represented on the jacket by endorsements--from
people ranging from political commentator Arianna Huffington to broadcast
journalist Walter Cronkite to economist Milton Friedman--Judge Gray's
effort to assemble such a coalition is off to a good start.
References
- Oyler
J, Darwin WD, Cone EJ. Cocaine contamination of United States paper
currency [Published erratum appears in J Anal Toxicol 1998 Jul-Aug;22(4):15].
J Anal Toxicol 1996 Jul-Aug;20(4):213-6.
- Gray
JP. Why our drug laws have failed and what we can do about it: a judicial
indictment of the War on Drugs. Philadelphia: Temple University Press;
2001.
