US CA: OPED: Who Bears The Brunt Of California's Drug Law?
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n541/a02.htm
Newshawk: Dale Gieringer
Pubdate: Thu, 21 Mar 2002
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
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Address: 901 Mission St., San Francisco CA 94103
Contact: letters@sfchronicle.com
Copyright: 2002 Hearst Communications Inc.
Author: Judith Appel, Robin Levi
Note: Judy Appel is deputy director of legal affairs at the Drug Policy
Alliance. Robin Levi is a consulting attorney at the Drug Policy Alliance.

California's Policy In The News - New Legislation On Welfare And Schools

WHO BEARS THE BRUNT OF CALIFORNIA'S DRUG LAW?

IN THEIR overwhelming support for Proposition 36 in 2000, California voters made it clear that they endorse treatment and rehabilitation -- not punishment -- for people who use drugs.

Yet, California remains one of 21 states that impose a lifetime ban on receiving welfare benefits and food stamps for persons convicted of felony drug charges, an egregious punitive attack against persons with a drug problem.

In its new report, the Sentencing Project estimates that about 38,000 women in California, out of a total of 92,000 women, will never be eligible for welfare benefits through a little noticed provision in the 1996 Welfare Reform law that prohibits persons with drug felony convictions after August 1996 from receiving welfare benefits and food stamps.

Although 29 states and the District of Columbia have opted out or modified the welfare felony drug ban, as permitted by law, California continues to fully enforce the ban. The state Legislature has twice passed bills to provide women recovering from drug addiction the resources necessary to rebuild their families. But Gov. Gray Davis vetoed both bills.

This ban in California not only harms individuals trying to recover from drug addiction, but also punishes their families, including an estimated 56, 000 children. Supporters of the ban erroneously claimed that it only affects the convicted individual, but the reality is that it drastically reduces the resources available to the family for such necessities as food, clothing and shelter.

Such financial constraints impose an almost insurmountable barrier for women trying to keep their families together.

Women of color are disparately impacted by this ban. As a result of racist drug policies, including mandatory minimum sentences and the focus on enforcement in inner-city communities, women of color represent the fastest growing segment of the prison population although drug use is approximately equal across races. Consequently, nearly half of the women affected by the felony drug ban in California are African Americans or Latinas.

California's hard-line stance is especially troubling because it imperils the success of Proposition 36, which offers treatment rather than jail for nonviolent drug offenses. It is very difficult to end drug addiction, and it is even harder without transitional financial assistance.

According to the Sentencing Project, "Drug treatment staff report that cash assistance and food stamps are critical for the successful recovery of low-income women because women who try to maintain employment in the early phases of recovery are likely to relapse and quit or lose their job."

To respect the will of California voters, state Assemblymember Carl Washington, D-Paramount, has recently introduced AB1947 to ensure that Proposition 36 participants continue to receive benefits, which are critical to the successful completion of treatment and maintaining family unity.

The measure is an important first step in eliminating discriminatory treatment for drug users. But it is only a first step.

There are many more that need to be taken before the United States supports persons in recovery from drug addiction and has a drug policy based upon science, compassion, public health and human rights, not fear and prejudice.

In addition to denying critical welfare benefits, there is a whole spectrum of punitive policies that face persons with drug convictions that continue long after completion of the prison sentence, probation, or parole.

For example, "one strike" housing laws deny public housing and assistance programs based upon drug history. The Higher Education Act suspends or denies eligibility for grants, loans or work assistance for students convicted of drug-related offenses.

Those impacted by these provisions are primarily nonviolent offenders caught in the cross fire of the war on drugs. To effectively address drug abuse, we must provide men, women and families with the resources to reduce the harms associated with drug abuse, not erect additional obstacles to punish and prevent them from becoming active, functioning members of society.

To start, we need to opt out of the drug felony welfare ban.

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