Treatment, Education Programs Needed in National Drug Fight, Drug Czar Says

“Bumper sticker” approaches are politically appealing and popular, but they aren’t the right ways to deal with complex major issues connected to drugs and the toll they take, the nation’s drug czar said Wednesday during an appearance in Eckstein Hall.

Neither calling for a war on drugs nor calling for legalization of drugs are effective paths, said, Gil Kerlikowske, whose actual title is director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Smart, well-structured approaches that combine law enforcement, treatment options, and prevention efforts create a third path that can yield good results, Kerlikowske said.

The “drug war” of the 1980s and ‘90s was “a totally inadequate answer to what is really a very complex problem,” he said. Using law enforcement alone, “we’re not capable of solving drug problems.” But using multiple approaches can show genuine and positive results.

Kerlikowske cited a nationwide decline in cocaine use – he estimated the decline at 40% — as an example of multiple factors coming together to help reduce a problem. He said the factors include reduced cocaine production in Columbia, better interdiction of drug shipments by law enforcement, and widespread recognition among potential users in the US of the dangers and risks of the drug.

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Vos and Barca Call for (and Demonstrate) More Civil Legislative Style

Let’s assume that civil, even good natured differences of opinion are better than heated, even angry differences of opinion.

The former is what was provided by two of the key figures in the Wisconsin Legislature at an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” event Friday in the Appellate Courtroom of Eckstein Hall. The latter was one of the things the Legislature became known for nationwide two years ago.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, and Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, a Democrat, didn’t mask their differences on a list of major issues. But the hour-long session was a conversation, not a shouting match.

For one thing, the two actually get along reasonably well on a personal level and, once a month, they tape a similar civil dialogue for broadcast on “Wisconsin Eye,” the cable TV and online service that broadcasts legislative sessions and related programming. For another, they and others in the Legislature are intentionally trying to change the tenor of the environment within the Capitol.

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Restorative Justice Conference: “Grief Is Inevitable; Misery Is Optional”

There is no way the legal system – or anyone else — can undo the terrible wounds left on people who have had a loved one murdered. But can the system or those involved in different aspects of it help survivors of a murder victim go forward in leading their lives?

That was the underlying question at the remarkable and emotionally intense 2013 Restorative Justice Conference held last week at Marquette Law School’s Eckstein Hall. “The Death Penalty Versus Life Without Parole: Comparing the Healing Impact on Victims’ Families and the Community” brought together about 200 people from Wisconsin and much of the country to examine the post-murder lives of family members.

But among the many speakers, six stood out – because, as survivors of victims, they personally had gone through the grieving and dealt with the legal system and so many other problems. Three from Texas, two from Minnesota, and one from the Milwaukee area told their searing stories in a pair of panel discussions on Friday morning, the second day of the conference.

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