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Seasoning the Minute on the War on Drugs: |
At Annual Session NPYM Friends will consider the Minute on the War on Drugs proposed by Walla Walla Preparative Meeting (WWPM) in early 2007. As a part of the seasoning process, Eastside Friends Meeting will host a presentation and discussion with Roger Goodman on April 20 at 11:30 AM. Everyone is welcome. Roger leads the King County Bar Association’s Drug Policy Project, a high-level partnership of lawyers, doctors, pharmacists and other professionals in Washington seeking to find more effective ways to reduce the harm and costs of drug abuse. In this role, he is a national leader in efforts to reform drug policy in a manner consistent with the Minute on the War on Drugs. Friends and others are invited to join in Meeting for Worship at 10:00 AM on April 20. The program with Roger will begin at 11:30 AM after a short break for snacks and socializing. See www.quaker.org/eastside for a link to a map and for written directions (also below). Please contact Terry Thorsos (425-883-7304, thorsoset@earthlink.net) if you know of several people planning to attend. We’ll want to have enough chairs and snacks. |
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Seasoning the Proposed Minute on the (Failed) War on Drugs
National Leader to Speak at Eastside
Friends Meeting
4160 158th Ave. SE At Annual Session NPYM Friends will consider the Minute on the War on Drugs proposed by Walla Walla Preparative Meeting (WWPM) in early 2007. As a part of the seasoning process, Eastside Friends Meeting will host a presentation and discussion with Roger Goodman on April 20 at 11:30 AM. Everyone is welcome. Roger has long been a friend of Friends. He attended Moses Brown Friends School in Providence, RI from elementary through secondary school, and may mention Friends’ influence when introducing himself publicly. A suggestion from Roger, when he directed Washington’s Sentencing Guidelines Commission, led to writing the first successful legislation from the Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy. Roger now leads the King County Bar Association’s Drug Policy Project, a high-level partnership of lawyers, doctors, pharmacists and other professionals in Washington seeking to find more effective ways to reduce the harm and costs of drug abuse. In this role, he is a national leader in efforts to reform drug policy in a manner consistent with the Minute on the War on Drugs. He also represents the 45th Legislative District in the Washington State’s House of Representatives. Friends and others are invited to join in Meeting for Worship at 10:00 AM. The program with Roger will begin at 11:30 AM after a short break for snacks and socializing. See www.quaker.org/eastside for a link to a map and for written directions (also below). Please contact Terry Thorsos (425-883-7304, thorsoset@earthlink.net) if you know of several people planning to attend. We’ll want to have enough chairs and snacks. WWPM suggests the following online resources for use in the seasoning of this minute. RESOURCES King County Bar Association Drug Policy Project Report www.kcba.org/ScriptContent/KCBA/druglaw/pdf/EffectiveDrugControl.pdf “ … beyond excellent and should be read by everyone.” Barbara Clark, WWPM Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative www.idpi.us Drug Policy Alliance www.drugpolicy.org Law Enforcement Against Prohibition www.leap.cc A highly recommended 12 minute video is downloadable from this website
WALLA WALLA FRIENDS
PREPARATIVE MEETING Minute on the War on Drugs As an expression of our belief in nonviolence and the value of each person, Friends have throughout our history sought compassionate and effective answers to individual and social problems. One of the most problematic federal policies for decades has been the “War on Drugs.” Its stated purpose has been to reduce the production, sale, and use of psychoactive drugs, the abuse of which can be devastating to individuals, families, workplaces, and communities. Yet criminalization has failed to reduce drug abuse, has created a major illegal drug and secondary crime network, and has filled our prisons and courtrooms with individuals prosecuted for drug-related crimes. We call for a public health model as a sustainable and humane way to achieve the goal of reducing drug abuse in the United States. We also call for decriminalization of drugs in order to end the injustice, violence to persons and property, and ineffective use of resources inherent in our current system of drug control. Under a public health model, there could be a tightly regulated distribution system for psychoactive drugs. In such a system, drugs could be made available at reasonable prices in order to eliminate or reduce property and personal crime by those seeking to pay inflated prices from unlawful dealers. Access to drugs could be conditioned on drug counseling and treatment where abuse is indicated. Failure to comply with drug regulations could result in civil proceedings, including civil contempt for willful failure to comply with appropriate orders. With a portion of the resources resulting from reduced prison construction and operation cost, a major public education campaign could be undertaken regarding drug abuse similar to the campaign against tobacco use, along with enhanced treatment and prevention programs, which are now seriously under-funded. In addition, churches, families, and other social institutions that mold individual behavior must deal with the moral problems of drug and alcohol abuse. Cooperating with social controls based on a public health model, rather than continuing to rely on the failed model of criminalization and mass incarceration, Friends and others must show their respect for that of God in every person by dealing compassionately and effectively with the problem of chemical abuse in ways that are consistent with our long held values. We therefore ask Friends in NPYM and throughout the United States to join with others in seeking these changes in the way our communities, states, and nation address this important issue of drug abuse.
Eastside Friends Meeting
Contact on April 20, 2008: K. Terry Thorsos, (425-890-2035). Driving Directions: From I-90 eastbound, toward Spokane from Seattle and Mercer Island: Take Exit 11-A for 150th Ave SE (the first exit east of I-405 ). Bear right at the end of the off ramp onto 150th Ave SE. Proceed south on 150th Ave SE 0.3 mile to the signal at Newport Way. Turn left (east) onto Newport Way. Follow Newport Way 0.7 mile to 158th Ave SE. Turn right (south) onto 158th Ave SE. Follow the small winding road up the hill for about 2 blocks. The road dead-ends in the Meetinghouse parking lot. From I-90 westbound, toward Seattle from Issaquah: Take Exit 13 for Newport Way. Turn left at the end of the off ramp and pass under I-90. Turn right (west) onto Newport Way. Continue 1.8 miles to 158th Ave SE. Turn left (south) onto 158th Ave SE. Follow the small winding road up the hill for about 2 blocks. The road dead-ends in the Meetinghouse parking lot. From I-405 southbound, toward Renton from Bellevue: Once you pass the SE 8th exit, get in the second lane from the right. Take the I-90 East exit toward Spokane (a right exit which soon splits, the left lane joins eastbound I-90). Take Exit 11-A for 150th Ave SE (the first exit east of I-405 ). Bear right at the end of the off ramp onto 150th Ave SE. Proceed south on 150th Ave SE 0.3 mile to the signal at Newport Way. Turn left (east) onto Newport Way. Follow Newport Way 0.7 mile to 158th Ave SE. Turn right (south) onto 158th Ave SE. Follow the small winding road up the hill for about 2 blocks. The road dead-ends in the Meetinghouse parking lot. From I-405 northbound, toward Bellevue from Renton: Take the I-90 East exit toward Spokane. Take Exit 11-A for 150th Ave SE (the first exit east of I-405 ). Bear right at the end of the off ramp onto 150th Ave SE. Proceed south on 150th Ave SE 0.3 mile to the signal at Newport Way. Turn left (east) onto Newport Way. Follow Newport Way 0.7 mile to 158th Ave SE. Turn right (south) onto 158th Ave SE. Follow the small winding road up the hill for about 2 blocks. The road dead-ends in the Meetinghouse parking lot. Public Transportation:
Metro bus route #210 (University District
to Issaquah) stops on Newport Way 2 blocks from 158th Ave. SE (the
Meetinghouse road). |
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