High
Times Magazine's Freedom Fighter for July, 2006
Paul Wright
By Preston Peet
(Originally published in High Times Magazine,
July, 2006 issue, pg. 20)
posted DrugWar.com June 12, 2006
PLN Founder and Editor
Paul Wright
When he entered the Washington State penal
system in 1987, after receiving a 304-month sentence for shooting
a drug dealer during a robbery (the jury rejected his claim of
self-defense), Prison Legal News founder and editor Paul Wright
immediately recognized a dire need for a publication by and for
prisoners, and despite having no previous journalism schooling
or experience, he set out to fill the void. The first hand-typed,
photocopied, 10-page issue of PLN was published in Wright and
Ed Mead, cooperating from two different prisons, in May 1990.
The first three issues were banned in all Washington prisons,
the first 18 in all Texas prisons. Still, the monthly magazine
quickly grew to 48 pages, and each new issue now enters prisons
and jails in all fifty states, despite frequent censorship troubles.
Though the primary focus of PLN is not the
War on Some Drugs and Users, Wright explains to HIGH TIMES that
his magazine frequently reminds readers that "the sham nature
of the War on Drugs is best illustrated by the fact that the government
is unable to keep drugs out of its most secure prisons, despite
having total control of all access, 24/7 surveillance of the inhabitants,
etc., because the government really isn't interested in keeping
drugs out of its prisons, as it's an important control mechanism."
Prison Legal News endorses total drug decriminalization:
"The price of drugs would plummet-eliminating both the organized-crime
and government-corruption issues-and prison and jail population
would shrink to a fraction of their current size," Wright
says, stressing that his magazine's mission includes not only
reducing the numbers in prison but also improving the treatment
of those locked up. "PLN stands for the idea that everyone
imprisoned in America has basic human rights and that the government
should be held accountable for their treatment."
PLN's full contact info and subscription
rates:
$18 for prisoners; $25 for non prisoners; $60 for lawyers and
organizations, for
12 issues. PLN will send a sample copy free on request or readers
can check out PLN on its website at: www.prisonlegalnews.org.
Or PLN can be contacted at:
2400 NW 80th St. # 148, Seattle, WA 98117. 206-246-1022.
