City 15 to Air Global Public Policy Forum on the War on Drugs

A precedent-setting, two-day conference on the forty-year old war on drugs, hosted by the University of Texas at El Paso, drew speakers of multiple points of view from the academic, government, and advocacy sectors. The consensus reached by many in attendance was that U.S. consumer drug demand fuels profitable organized crime, wreaking havoc on societies and fueling challenges to democracies in the Americas. The situation demands serious consideration of a range of practical alternatives to the currently costly and ineffective prohibition policies.

Residents who were unable to attend the Public Policy Forum are invited to view the panel discussions on Cable Channel 15, Your El Paso Government Information Source. The following is a schedule when the panel discussions will be aired:

• Monday, November 30 at noon: History, Successes, and Failures of the War on Drugs
• Wednesday, December 2 at noon: Reporting on the Drug War
• Thursday, December 3 at noon: Drug War and Violence: Effects on Communities in Mexico and the U.S.
• Friday, December 4 at noon: Exporting the Drug War: Historical and Geographic Perspectives
• Monday, December 7 at noon: Social Consequences of the Drug War
• Wednesday, December 9 at noon: Alternative Strategies and Policy Proposals for the Drug War
• Thursday, December 10 and noon: Based upon his experience as a former federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, a criminal defense attorney with the U.S. Navy JAG Corps, and a 25-year veteran on the trial court bench, Judge James P. Gray concluded that our nation's drug policy was not working. He offers policy alternatives to the current status quo.