Reply #98: Ending the War on Some Drugs, Seattle, 5/17

[eridani]

The Time is Now! To End the War on Drugs
Thursday May 17th, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Rainer Valley Cultural Center, 3515 S. Alaska in South Seattle.
Dinner and Daycare will be provided.

This community panel features Martin Luther King County Council member Larry Gossett, former Seattle Police Chief, Norm Stamper, UW Professor of Sociology Katherine Beckett, and John Page of the Village of Hope.

Consider these facts: In May 2005, over half (54%) of those arrested for drug law violations were Black, though only 8% of Seattle's population is black. In Seattle, the Black drug arrest rate is ten times greater than the white drug arrest rate. And across the US, there are 260,000 people in state prisons on non-violent drug charges?more than 70% are Black or Latino.

Panelists will discuss the overwhelmingly negative impact that the war on drugs has had on communities of color, low-income people, and the criminal justice system.

Primary sponsors are the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), The Racial Disparity Project, and Village of Hope. For more information, please contact KL Shannon at [phone] or klorganizer [at} yahoo.com or Dustin Washington at [phone] x 14.