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10 Signs the Failed Drug War Is Finally Ending
(Tony Newman, AlterNet, December 4, 2009)
1) Three Former Latin American Presidents Call Drug War a Failure (February) ... 2) Michael Phelps and the Bong Hit Heard Around the World (February) ... 3) Obama Justice Department Says No More Raids on Patients and Caregivers in States with Medical Marijuana Laws (March) ... 4) Drop the Rock! NY's Draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws Finally Reformed (April) ... 5) Governor Arnold Calls for Debate on Legalizing Marijuana: Voters to Decide in 2010 (May) ... 6) Drug Czar Calls for End to the Drug War (May) ... 7) Mexico and Argentina Move to Decriminalize Marijuana and other Drugs (August) ... 8) The Results Are In: Portugal's Decriminalization Law of 2001 Reduced Transmission of Disease, Cut Overdose Deaths and Incarceration, While Not Increasing Drug Use. (August) ... 9) Coming Out of the Closet: "Stiletto Stoners" Explain Why They Like Marijuana (September) ... 10) The Marijuana Legalization Debate Hits the Mainstream (Fall ) ... The Drug War Grinds On, but Change is in the Air (December)

For all the recent progress, drug policy reformers are under no illusion that the drug war will end any time soon. We know that drug prohibition and our harsh drug laws - fueled by a prison-industrial complex that locks up 500,000 of our fellow Americans on drug-related offenses - are poised to continue for some time wasting tens of billions of dollars a year and leading to the deaths of thousands of Mexicans and Americans every year due to prohibition-related violence. But we are clearly moving in the right direction, toward a more rational drug policy based on compassion, health, science and human rights. We need people to continue to join the movement to end this unwinnable war. If the people lead, the leaders will follow.

Tony Newman is communications director for the Drug Policy Alliance.

posted by Lorenzo 3:37 PM