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Ten Years Later: Human Rights & the Drug War |
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Written by Mikki Norris
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Wednesday, 08 February 2006 |
Co-authors: Virginia Resner and Chris Conrad
It’s been 10 years since we unveiled the first Human Rights and the Drug War photo exhibit in San Francisco, CA, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations.
Originally called Human Rights 95: Atrocities of the
Drug War, we hoped that as soon as the public and the world saw the
faces and heard the stories of how the US government violates so many
articles of the Declaration of Human Rights in its Drug War against its
own people, there would be a great public demand to end the policies
that destroy so many lives and families and to end America’s longest
war.
 Hands cuffed to a wire cage greeted viewers at the 10th Anniversary showing of the Human Rights and the Drug War exhibit, as a reminder of all the prisoners who could not attend the DPA conference. Photo by Chris Conrad
It’s time to end the Drug War’s vicious destruction of lives.
 Ten years is a long time in someone’s life. For the
inmates and their families who have participated in our project, ten
years means changes or stagnation.
The inmates who received mandatory minimum sentences
of five or ten years have now been released and have picked up their
lives and moved on. A few, persistent, lucky ones who gained media
attention and support from the outside were able to receive parole or
clemencies from President Bill Clinton before his term was over. All
struggle with the label and stigma of “drug felon” hanging over them.
Some have become successful business people. Most are quietly living
their lives trying to re-establish their relationships and careers.  Above: California cannabis patient and former Drug War POW Marvin Chavez sat near his piece of the display.
Those serving long prison sentences, mostly
low-level offenders charged under conspiracy statutes, remain in prison
trying to cope with the prospect of release dates well into the next
decade or beyond. Many marriages are over.
Many haven’t seen their children for years or have
never held their grandchildren. They continue to miss the birthdays,
holidays, graduations, weddings, and funerals in their loved ones’
lives, but try to maintain family ties via phone or mail. Many preserve
their hopes and take advantage of courses and programs offered to
develop skills or to become better human beings.
Some feel it’s a waste of time considering their
skills will be obsolete by the time they are released, or they don’t
have the money to participate in them. A few have even died behind bars.
But, they all manage the best they can. A new-found
spirituality and faith in God sustain many through their darkest hours,
as they try to cope with the dysfunctional environment of prison life,
inadequate health care, and the prospect of more years of their lives
on hold.
 Amy Povah (formerly Pofahl) won presidential clemency in 2000 and attended the showing. Photo by Chris Conrad
Children of inmates do the best they can to survive
and grow up without the presence of their parents or the love, support
and nurturing that only they can bring. Some have gotten into trouble
with the law or become teen parents. Some have learned to get by
without parents. All have missed the mothers and fathers they once had
to tuck them in at night, to celebrate important occasions in their
lives, or to or buy them their first….
It’s time to end the destruction, injustice, and hypocrisy that is the Drug War.
We call upon you, the public and the international
community, to look into and stop the human rights violations and abuses
that continue in the name of trying to create a drug-free world.
We pray it doesn’t take ten more years to realize
that there are more humane, compassionate, cost-effective and pragmatic
ways to deal with the so-called drug problems in society, as drugs are
here to stay. But, human lives are irreplaceable and redeemable. It is
imperative, for the sake of our democracy and the soul of this country
that we find another way.
* Norris, Resner and Conrad are Coordinators &
Designers of Human Rights and the Drug War, PO Box 1716 El Cerrito CA
94530. email:
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• www.hr95.org
 Viewing the display at the DPA conference. Photo by Chris Conrad
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Mikki Norris |
| About the author: |
| Mikki Norris has been an activist for drug policy reform since 1989 when she formed the American Hemp Council along with her husband Chris Conrad. In subsequent years, they took several cross-country trips to educate the public on the many uses of hemp, and to network and strategize with activists and businesspeople on how to advance the movement. In 1993, she and Chris moved to Amsterdam to design exhibits for and curate the Hash Marijuana Hemp Museum, which they updated in 2000. As community action co-coordinator for Californians for Medical Rights, she helped organize petitioners to qualify the medical marijuana initiative (Prop. 215) for the 1996 ballot. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 September 2006 )
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