The War on Drugs as we know it, today, “officially” began in 1973 when with passage of New York’s strict sentencing guidelines “known as the ‘Rockefeller drug laws’ — after their champion, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller — that put even low-level criminals behind bars for decades,” according to Brain Mann’s NPR story, today, “The Drug Laws That Changed How We Punish.” Until this sudden, about-face, Governor Rockefeller had been “a champion of drug rehabilitation, job training and housing” as the answer to drug-related crime. “He saw drugs as a social problem, not a criminal one,” says Mann.
So why the Directional Shift in Governor Rockefeller’s War on Drugs?
So what happened to change the Governor’s mind? And how did the “Rockefeller Drug Laws” so radically change our sentencing laws. How successful have these laws been in the war on drugs?
For the print copy of Brian Mann’s story, click here.
For a podcast of the story, click here. Just 7 minutes and 47 seconds long – it goes a long way to helping us understand the history and from there opening our minds to what we should / could be doing instead.
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Insanity! I remember the ‘war on drugs’ well. I was a 1973 high school graduate and drugs were free and easy . . . too many kids went to prison.
I remember those days, as well – so crazy and now that we know it doesn’t work – that it’s a brain disease and that the key risk factors for developing the disease can be addressed | prevented | interrupted… – we have the science to rethink this and do it a different way. Let’s hope we’re on that path, FINALLY!
Today there are more and more voices on the internet, educating others about addiction, giving support to both the addict and families and refuge from the ignorance of stigma. Where do we go from here? How can the average person support change? Do we need a campaign like breast cancer to make that change? It still makes me cringe hearing the word ‘drunk’. I relate it to hearing a person with down syndrome being called ‘dummy’. Of course that doesn’t happen any more because society has become educated about down syndrome. What can we do to educate the public about addiction? How long will it take to make the word ‘drunk’ unacceptable?
slawoszewski (at) yahoo.com
I so agree Bev! In fact, in 2011, I purchased the domains for WorldAddictionsDay.org and WorldAddictionsDay.com – this link shares what I envision for this effort: http://www.worldaddictionsday.org/. My number is 650-362-3026 and email is lisaf@breakingthecycles.com. I look forward to talking with you!