Home : Drug Policy : General

Damage Of Drug War On Prominent Display At Telluride Film Festival This Weekend (08/28/2008)
TELLURIDE, CO – The devastating impact of America's "war on drugs" will be on prominent display this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival with the premiere of "American Violet," a film based on the racially charged drug war scandal that rocked the town of Hearne, Texas, several years ago. Directed by Tim Disney and written by Bill Haney, the film stars Alfre Woodard, Will Patton and Tim Blake Nelson.

ACLU Expresses its Disappointment in Congress for Failing to Eliminate Aid Penalty in HEA Reauthorization (07/31/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed its disappointment in Congress for failing to repeal the aid elimination penalty in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The aid elimination penalty bars students with drug convictions – often minor, first time and misdemeanor offenses – from receiving critical college aid.

International Drug Policy Up For Debate At Landmark U.N. Forum (07/07/2008)
VIENNA, Austria – The American Civil Liberties Union today joins a diverse coalition of civil and human rights organizations participating in the United Nations’ “Beyond 2008 Forum,” a historic opportunity to assess the past decade of international drug policy and to shape its future course. The ACLU and others will speak to the inability of current, principally punitive drug policies to reduce the supply of or demand for illicit drugs, as well as the significant violence, health problems, and civil and human rights violations directly attributable to these policies.

Advocates Stand Together for Fairness in Federal Sentencing (02/26/2008)
Washington, DC – On Tuesday, February 26, activists from around the country, civil rights and professional organizations stood together to call for much-needed reform to the country’s federal sentencing laws. This press briefing and lobby event marked the culmination of a month-long series of events aimed at addressing the 20-year-old sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. According to current guidelines, a conviction for the sale of 500 grams of powder cocaine results in a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence, while the same penalty is triggered for sale or possession of only 5 grams of crack cocaine.

ACLU Cheers USSC Decision to Apply New Drug Sentencing Guidelines Retroactively (12/11/2007)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s decision to apply recent changes in federal crack cocaine sentencing guidelines retroactively. Thousands of offenders were sentenced under the previous guidelines, which unfairly and erroneously required them to serve more than the mandatory minimum sentence required by law. Thanks to the USSC’s decision, such offenders will now have the opportunity to appear before the court and have their case reviewed by a judge.

ACLU Sets the Record Straight on Federal Drug Sentencing Retroactivity (12/03/2007)
Washington, D.C. – The American Civil Liberties Union today reiterated its support of retroactivity for defendants serving longer sentences than required by federal law after the question was raised in this weekend’s presidential debate. The United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) last month changed federal sentencing guidelines to make sure people would not serve more than the federal mandatory minimum sentence for crack offenses. The USSC is now considering whether to make those changes to the guidelines retroactive, applying them to offenders currently in prison, not just those who were arrested before the new guidelines were implemented.

U.S. Sentencing Commission Issues New Recommendations on Federal Sentencing Guidelines (04/28/2007)
Washington - In a public hearing Friday evening, the United States Sentencing Commission voted to amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for federal crack cocaine offenses. Distributing just five grams of crack for example, carries a minimum five-year federal prison sentence, while distributing 500 grams of powder cocaine carries the same sentence.

ACLU Testifies Before United States Sentencing Commission for Fair Drug Sentencing Policies (11/14/2006)
WASHINGTON - Jesselyn McCurdy, Legislative Counsel at the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, testified today at a public hearing held by the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) about the continued unfairness and racial impact of federal drug sentencing policy. Despite repeated recommendations by the USSC, Congress has not addressed a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between distribution of powder and crack cocaine.

ACLU Releases Crack Cocaine Report, Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 Deepened Racial Inequity in Sentencing (10/26/2006)
WASHINGTON – To mark the 20th anniversary of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, the American Civil Liberties Union today issued the report, “Cracks in the System: Twenty Years of the Unjust Federal Crack Cocaine Law.” The report details discriminatory effects of the drug law that devastated African American and low-income communities.

July's ACLU Freedom Files: Drug Wars Shows the Sham That Is the "War on Drugs" (07/06/2006)
NEW YORK — The ACLU Freedom Files helps viewers get to know everyday people whose rights are threatened and shows the human side of our fight to protect civil liberties. The "Drug Wars" episode, premiering this July, shows how the "war on drugs" has turned out to be a war on the American people.

ACLU Challenges Federal Law That Refuses Financial Aid to Students With Drug Convictions (03/22/2006)
ABERDEEN, SD –The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of a federal law that denies financial aid to any college student convicted of a drug offense.

ACLU Urges Supreme Court to Reaffirm Legal Limits of Police Search and Seizure Powers (02/22/2006)
WASHINGTON -- In a case being argued today before the Supreme Court, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the Justices to reject an appeals court ruling allowing police to search parolees on the public streets without any reason to suspect wrongdoing.

ACLU Announces Defense of Indians Targeted in Meth Sting Operation (11/21/2005)
ROME, GA - In collaboration with the local community and a national South Asian organization, the American Civil Liberties Union today announced its defense of three convenience store owners and workers of Indian descent arrested for selling common household items that can be used in the production of methamphetamine. The ACLU promised a thorough investigation into claims that law enforcement selectively targeted the Indian community based on national origin and race.

State Medical Marijuana Laws Remain Valid Despite U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Gonzales v. Raich, ACLU Says (06/06/2005)
WASHINGTON -- In response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling today in Gonzales v. Raich, that the federal government can enforce federal laws prohibiting the cultivation, possession, and use of medical marijuana even in states where medical marijuana is legal under state law, the American Civil Liberties Union urged state and local governments to protect individual patients and their caregivers.

Justice Department Refuses to Defend Congress in Legal Battle Over Law Censoring Marijuana Policy Ads (01/26/2005)
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Justice has notified Congress that it will not defend a law prohibiting the display of marijuana policy reform ads in public transit systems. The controversial statute was recently ruled unconstitutional by a federal district court. The Solicitor General Paul Clement stated in a letter to Congress that, ""the government does not have a viable argument to advance in the statute's defense and will not appeal the district court's decision."" Today is Congress' last day to respond to the federal appeals court in the D.C. Circuit.

Massachusetts Transit Agency Violated Free Speech Rights by Rejecting Marijuana Policy Reform Ads, Federal Court Rules (12/09/2004)
BOSTON -- Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts declared a First Amendment victory today in a federal appeals court ruling that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority violated free speech rights by refusing to display subway advertisements encouraging public discussion about marijuana policies and laws. However, the ACLU criticized a separate ruling that upheld the transit agency's decision to reject ads submitted by a Christian church group.

Revisions to New York Rockefeller Drug Laws Embrace the Status Quo (12/08/2004)
NEW YORK--The New York Civil Liberties Union today charged that legislation passed in Albany, while reducing the most severe mandatory sentences for drug offenses, leaves in place a sentencing scheme that is inherently unfair and unjust. Even with the proposed revisions, New York still has the harshest drug-sentencing laws in the country.

Following Legal Challenge from ACLU and Drug Policy Reform Groups, Federal Court Strikes Down Law Censoring Marijuana Policy Reform Ads (06/03/2004)
WASHINGTON -In a stinging rebuke, a federal judge today struck down a law prohibiting the display of marijuana policy reform ads in public transit systems, saying that the government's attempt to censor ads was "illegitimate and constitutionally impermissible." The judge also issued a permanent injunction prohibiting its enforcement.

ACLU and Drug Policy Groups Challenge Censorship of Advertisements Criticizing "War on Drugs" in Federal Court (04/28/2004)
WASHINGTON- In arguments in federal court today, the nation's major drug policy reform groups urged a judge to strike down a law that bars local transit authorities from accepting advertisements critical of the government's "War on Drugs."

Following ACLU Action, Officials Agree Not to Bar Activists at Weekend Festival in South Carolina (04/19/2004)
COLUMBIA, SC - After the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina filed a lawsuit in federal court last week challenging the "Three Rivers Music Festival" organizers' censorship of the marijuana law reform group NORML, the organizers agreed not to enforce the policy, the ACLU said today. The Midlands branch of NORML exercised its First Amendment right this weekend to distribute informational literature to attendees of the music festival without incident.