The Progressive Dane Drug Policy Task Force convened the first State of The City Drug Policy Address on August 20, 2002. (The address is available online at: www.prodane.org/stateofcity.php). There were a number of recommendations made at that time, which serve as the focus of this review. As change is a process and not an event, it is clear that many of the recommendations we made and the goals we hoped to achieve were long term. The work of the Task Force since last August has been greatly assisted by the leadership of Stephanie Rearick and the commitment of Jimi Reinke, Gary Storck, Jon Hain, and David Chastain. It is our hope that with the publication of this Review, participation in the Task Force will increase. For more information contact David Chastain at 224-0431, or at dchastain@tds.net.
The primary focus of the Task Force is to support and encourage the adoption of policies that shift the attention in addressing drug use, abuse and dependence away from a criminal approach and toward a public health approach. There were recommendations made in seven specific areas in the Drug Policy Address held last year. These areas included: use of marijuana; information sharing; narcotic use and harm reduction; civil liberties; property forfeitures; treatment vs. jail; and ongoing evaluation of drug policies. In the months since then some of these areas have shown no change, some an increased potential for change, and in some there has been evidence of change. We are in no way accepting of progress in any of these seven areas to the extent that they are no longer of concern.
The Task Force has seen a measure of support and a degree of positive reception by the Mayor’s office and the Madison Police Department (MPD). Prior to last year’s event, many were unaware of City Ordinance 23.20, which allows for personal use and possession of marijuana in one’s home. Our recommendation was that this ordinance be consistently utilized, resulting in a decrease in marijuana arrests and a more valuable use of MPD resources in addressing crimes of violence. The Mayor’s office has been particularly helpful in providing the Task Force with information in this area.
We continue to be very concerned with the lack of progress in the availability of medical marijuana. It may be that local efforts are impeded by the strong emphasis from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) on resisting attempts to change any marijuana policy. Tragic evidence of this was seen in California as agents forced very weak patients out of bed in order to “uphold the Federal law”. It is significant to note that in Wisconsin over 70% agree that patient and doctor should determine the use of medical marijuana (www.drugsense.org/dprwi/ed_thompson_mmj_poll.htm), and yet politicians continue to be hesitant to support legislation. When there is an opportunity to reduce suffering and to increase health doing otherwise is unethical and cruel. In addition to ongoing support of this issue and of 23.20, we continue to recommend the development of a mechanism for the dispensing of medical marijuana.
Although there is widespread community support for the ability of patients to use medical marijuana when needed, there is still no mechanism for patients to legally obtain it. This year we plan to focus some of our efforts on forwarding legislation to protect patients. We will pursue an ordinance to bar prosecutors from charging medical marijuana patients under state or federal law. We will also research other ways to enable patients to obtain their medicine without legal risk.
This is an area in which continued efforts are recommended as indicated in the Drug Policy Address. These efforts include: county wide studies to determine the effects of mandatory minimum sentencing; training for law enforcement regarding the long term effects of drug charges; feasibility study regarding a safe protocol for an ibogaine treatment program; and county wide studies regarding long term harm reduction efforts. In this area and the next, we continue to recommend shifting overdose cases to the public health sector.
We are pleased that the city-county drug policy committee (AODCP), which we recommended expediting, is now in place. The existence of this committee will help in the areas of information sharing, since the committee is charged with creating an inventory of what drug policy- related programs and practices are currently in use, and in recommending a process for ongoing evaluation of drug policy efforts. The committee should also prove helpful in developing a more comprehensive approach to drug policy issues in Madison and Dane County, encouraging more understanding and cooperation between law enforcement, prevention, intervention, treatment and harm reduction sectors.
The concerns raised last year are essentially unchanged. We had offered our support of the city and county efforts in funding needle exchange programs. Although this continues, ongoing users are caught in a conflict between laws. The possession of clean syringes and their sales without prescriptions are allowed, but the other equipment needed to prepare a shot is not tolerated. While the exchange programs are trying to educate users on their behaviors, and to provide enough sterile equipment so that risk of transmission of infectious disease is reduced, people using the exchange programs are at risk from law enforcement. People coming forward to protect themselves and their communities should not be persecuted for taking a step in the right direction. An amnesty on all injection/exchange related paraphernalia would help reduce viral transmissions, the most immediate threat. This threat could also be reduced with honest drug education, public service announcement campaigns and the decriminalization of paraphernalia.
In addition, we continue to urge the city and county to adopt procedures for 911 overdose calls that do not immediately involve police involvement. We know of deaths in Madison this year due to the fear of arrest when calling 911. An overdose is first and foremost a medical emergency and needs to be treated as such.
A final recommendation that we made in last year’s Address was the distribution of naloxone, an opioid antagonist used by emergency personnel to revive overdose victims. We have seen evidence in other parts of the country that the use of naloxone can save loves. Pilot programs in Chicago and San Francisco have shown success and can be repeated in Madison. With a rise in heroin use, Madison and Dane County need to take steps to establish a similar program here.
Our recommendation that the Madison Police Department (MPD) renew its commitment to community based policing has seen progress. A meeting with the department at the Northside office with Mike Masterson indicated movement in this area. This has recently included the disbanding of the Drug Units to redirect officers to more neighborhood-based involvements. We support the idea and approach that neighbors can create and police their own norms.
Also in this area, we had recommended the adopting of inclusionary zoning ordinances and the end of Section 8 discrimination. These areas are currently being addressed.
Our recommendation for an increase in entertainment options for youth may be impacted by recent changes in the Alcohol License Review Committee (ALRC), which could result in an increase in music venues and clubs that allow dancing. The addition of the PD Arts Task Force also could provide support in this area.
We recommended eliminating money from drug-related property forfeitures as a funding source for law enforcement. This year we are strengthening that recommendation, with an end-goal of entirely eliminating drug-related property forfeitures. In the meantime, we recommend that any drug-related forfeitures be processed through the state, in which case the money form forfeitures goes into school funding, rather than going through the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), as is the current norm, in which case 20% of the money funds the DEA and 80% is returned to fund drug enforcement efforts here. We believe that this change will help ameliorate potential conflicts of interest that may arise when a law enforcement agency becomes dependent on forfeiture money for part of its operating budget. In addition, quality education is also viewed as a tool in preventing drug misuse.
A recent meeting between Madison Health Services and Dane County Health and Family Services may result in the resumption of methadone treatment for prisoners in the Huber work-release program. This is an important step that had been recommended in last year’s Address. We commend both parties for this effort.
We continue to recommend that any non-violent drug related offense be referred for the option of treatment rather than jail time. It is estimated that for every dollar spent on treatment, more than seven dollars are gained back (RAND corporation study, 1994). There is no such equation related to jail time.
This Review is intended to continue an ongoing and permanent process of holding the City of Madison, Dane County and the PD Drug Policy Task Force accountable to the community for any recommendations or promises of change. It is insufficient to simply state what could be. The Task Force intends to follow these ideas to fruition. To reiterate from the Address:
We recommend the separation of use and abuse in policy matters.
We recommend that drugs be evaluated according to their specific potentials for health risk.
We support and encourage any and all Harm Reduction efforts.
We encourage research into the possibility of controlled appropriate markets for the personal, safe use of drugs.
The Task Force will continue to address these concerns through whatever peaceful means are at our disposal, limited only by our numbers and our creativity. We invite Madison and Dane County to speak up on behalf of what we see as concerns that are shared by many silent voices. Although change may be a process, we can influence how far and how fast the changes unfold. Brave steps are needed from Madison’s progressive community.
The Progressive Dane Drug Policy Task Force