IDPI testifies before state legislature
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February 14, 2005

1. IDPI testifies in Maryland House of Delegates
2. IDPI convenes the national Faith Action Working Group on criminal justice reform
3. "Prohibition and the Media" - a new blog
4. If you like our work, please make a financial contribution today
5. Upcoming drug policy events in MA, CT, RI, CA, MI, NE, IL, NY, DC, AZ

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1.  IDPI testifies before the Maryland legislature
 
On Wednesday, February 2, IDPI's executive director, Charles Thomas, testified before the Judiciary Committee of the Maryland state legislature in support of a bill to repeal mandatory minimum drug sentencing.
     
"I am here to testify to the broad consensus among mainstream religious denominations that mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenders is cruel and inappropriate," said Charles Thomas. 
 
IDPI was also successful in getting Rev. Kwame Reed from the United Church of Christ to testify.
 
During the 1980s, many state legislatures passed laws that force judges to give long, fixed prison terms to people convicted of certain drug crimes (including nonviolent offenders).  These laws are largely responsible for the massive increase in the prison population.  Many people who initially favored these harsh mandatory sentences are changing their minds after seeing how ineffective and devastating they are.
 
The following national religious denominations have made unequivocal statements supporting the repeal of mandatory minimum sentences for drug
offenders:  Roman Catholic (the largest religious denomination in the state, comprising of 25% of Marylanders), United Methodist (14% of Marylanders, 3rd largest religious denomination), Evangelical Lutheran (6% of Marylanders, 4th largest religious denomination), Presbyterian
(USA) (3% of Marylanders, 5th largest religious denomination), United Church of Christ,  Unitarian Universalist, and the National Council of Churches (a national coalition of 140,000 congregations from 36 Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox denominations).  The actual statements made by these religious bodies are available upon request.
 
"It is an egregious miscarriage of justice that Maryland's prisons are filled with mostly black, low-level, non-violent drug offenders," said Thomas.  "This policy is tearing apart families and breaking the state budget, while doing nothing to prevent people - especially young people
- from abusing drugs.  We pray that legislators will have the compassion and courage to repeal mandatory minimum laws and restore sentencing discretion to judges."
 
IDPI is part of a state-wide coalition called the Maryland Campaign for Treatment Not Incarceration.  This campaign includes MD NAACP, Episcopal Diocese of MD, Justice Policy Institute, MD Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, MD League of Women Voters, National Black Police Association, and others.

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  2.  IDPI convenes the first meeting of the national Faith Action Working Group on criminal justice reform
 
The Open Society Institute's Justice Roundtable is ground zero for Washington, D.C.-based organizations working on reforming the U.S. criminal justice system.  It has a history of being the starting point for coordinated action and coalition building among many influential organizations.  To that end, it has a number of working groups that focus on various issues and constituencies.
 
IDPI's, associate director, Troy Dayton, suggested the development of a working group for organizations working with faith communities on criminal justice reform.  The idea was well received.
 
The first meeting was convened for the purpose of discussing a faith-based response to the likelihood of new mandatory minimum sentencing being proposed by Congress in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision striking down the compulsory sentencing guidelines.
 
The meeting included representatives from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, United Methodist Church's General Board of Church and Society, Unitarian Universalist Association, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Mennonite Central Committee, and other religious groups that oppose mandatory sentencing.
 
This is the first time that representatives from these groups have sat around a table to discuss drug policy.  Keep an eye out for coordinated actions arising from what was discussed at this meeting.

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3. "Prohibition and the Media" - a new blog
 
Please check out a new internet blog called "Prohibition and the Media" at http://stopthedrugwar.org/blog/.
 
This innovative website was recently launched by Dave Borden, executive director of the Drug Reform Coordination Network.  "Prohibition and the Media" takes news stories about drug trade shootings, overdose deaths, corrupt cops, etc., and explains how the drug war either created or exacerbated the problem.
 
In so many cases the news media do not distinguish between the harms caused by the abuse of drugs and the harms caused by the laws to stop their use.  For example, if a drug dealer shoots another drug dealer over a turf battle, the mainstream media will usually report that as a "drug-related" crime.  That makes it sound like they shot each other because they were high on drugs. The violence was not the result of the pharmacological effects of drugs, but rather, it was the result of a prohibition-spawned illicit market where disputes between sellers tend to be resolved through violence rather than through legal means. 
 
The analyses of these news stories are eye-opening - and a great jump off point for a discussion in your congregation.

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4.   If you like our work, please make a financial contribution today
 
The Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative is breaking new ground by mobilizing religious groups and people of faith behind more compassionate and less coercive drug policies.  We will not see a major shift in drug policies until more of our moral leaders take a stand on these issues.
 
Who is educating them and getting them active?
 
IDPI is, and we need your help to do more of it.
 
IDPI does not have an endowment and we rely on the generosity of concerned citizens like you to fund this important work.  And because we are a relatively new and small organization, you specifically, are even more important to our long term growth and success. 
 
We must raise an additional $50,000 in 2005 to fulfill our proposed budget.  Every donation helps.  $50, $35, $1000, $100 - It all gets us one step closer.
 
For those of you that have donated in the past, thank you.  Please consider making a contribution earlier this year.  For those of you that have not donated but value our work, do yourself a favor and write out a check for $35 today.  It feels good to give to something innovative that you care about.
 
Think about this:  Our donor base from 2005 will decide the future of faith-based drug policy reform efforts.  We will be doing more and more as our budget and staff grow - but only if you contribute now.
 
Please join us in building a world that seeks healing, not punishment. 
 
Go to http://www.idpi.us/join/ to print out the donation form.  Or simply pop a check in the mail made out to IDPI and send it to 2808 Weisman Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20902.

We thank you in advance for your concern and generosity.
 
Sincerely,
 
Troy Dayton, associate director
 
"We are the leaders we've been waiting for." - unknown