Jeff Merkley for Oregon

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Jeff Merkley for Oregon

I agree we have serious problems related to meth and all other illegal drugs yet I do not agree that more cops, jails and/or mandatory minimums will be any more effective than they have been in the past. We already have more people in prison, per capita, than any other nation and over 50% are non-violent “drug offenders.” The cost and lost years of productivity have fallen hardest on the poor and minorities but also take funding away from everyone’s education, healthcare and programs like Head Start and after school activities which have been shown to do more towards helping at-risk young people stay off the streets and away from the drugs and our unregulated, often violent, drug market.

At any rate, it’s a very big issue with lots of details and nuance. An issue I’ve been interested in for a long time. So I read your (Mr. Merkley’s) proposals related to drugs and public safety and as you might surmise, respectfully disagree with you.

I do not want to put you off, yet I think that if you really want to escalate what we collectively call the War on Drugs and put more people in cages, an obvious question needs to be asked: Have you ever used meth or any other illegal drug? And if you have I think you owe us a detailed explanation about your drug experiences and how you can justify punishing people for something you also did?

Of course your possible past (or current) drug use should not be held against you. As you know Sen. Obama himself has been very candid about his past drug use and this openness is one of the things I most admire about him.

I look forward to your reply and thank you for your kind consideration.

Floyd Ferris Landrath

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