Suggestions for Sticking It to the Drug War
I haven’t been involved in activism since working with Food Not Bombs and participating in protests against the Iraq war a few years back. Recently, I’ve decided to hop back into the fray. The issues I’m most concerned about are economics, war, and the drug war. In light of the last concern, I put together this writing with suggestions for direct action related to the War on Drugs. Let me emphasize that I don’t speak from much experience and I’m always looking for constructive feedback on my ideas.
-Researching where people are being tried for drug charges then staging protests outside. If strength in numbers than peaceful disruption (sit-downs and lock-downs) with an aim to making the process too costly or shutting it down.
-Passing out Fully Informed Jury Association material to jurors in an effort to encourage the defendant getting off by a refusal to convict.
-Groups of people who decide ahead of time to not take plea bargains if facing charges for a drug offense. Forcing the state to stay lockstep on the Sixth Amendment with overwhelming numbers of defendants could possibly lead to their release if the system couldn’t process all cases speedily enough.
On the question of sit-downs and lock-downs, I’ve got mixed feelings on whether they’d be a help or hindrance. The possibility of negative publicity and thus voters not feeling inclined to support repealing laws criminalizing currently illicit drugs is one concern. On the other hand, we’ve seen that where anti-drug war electoral initiatives are successful on the local level the feds sometimes step in. There’s also the fact that the lives and liberties of innocent individuals are at stake. Knowing that context and circumstances can vary widely among people, the effect of a conviction or jail time could be especially disastrous for some. Successfully monkey wrenching the state by not making it worthwhile to conduct unjust trials would be a glorious achievement. It’d require hefty strength in numbers and good coordination to pull off. In the end, this idea may be unrealistic but I’ll throw it out for constructive criticism.
Good points nick
I think you make excellent points, Nick. Two things:
1. Expect estabishment resistance to FIJA information, ESPECIALLY if the jurors are on a case. That could be considered tampering, though I can’t be sure. I just know they’re really touchy about FIJA.
2. I think as we get more organized we should get a rough idea about the situations in which we’re willing to risk arrest. It’s a tough, personal decision, and it’s important that we really think it through. The risks and benefits should be thoroughly discussed and considered, so that we make the best investment with our criminal records.
Good for you for bringing it up.
Michael (the cool one),
Thanks!
Jeremy,
Yeah, the issues of tampering and arrest are important concerns.
[...] show my support and see who I can meet. I’d like to promote the ideas I put forward in this post, but I don’t know if they are of much use in the present cultural climate. I do think that [...]