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SF Mayor Gavin Newsom: War On Drugs Is A Failure
10/4/07|CBS News| by Hank Plante, Reporting

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom proclaimed the nation's war on drugs a total failure and insisted the crime rate would go down if the government spent money on treatment as opposed to jailing people with drug problems.

"If you want to get serious, if you want to reduce crime by 70% in this country overnight, end this war on drugs," he told reporters at City Hall on Thursday. "You want to get serious, seriously serious about crime and violence end this war on drugs."

The mayor maintained local jails are overcrowded with people incarcerated for drug offenses, taking up room that could be used to hold more violent criminal offenders. He said violent criminals with lengthy felony records are being turned loose, too often.

San Francisco Sheriff Mike Hennessey, who has run the county jail for 28 years, told CBS 5 that 60 to 75 percent of the 2,000 inmates currently held are there for drug crimes or have underlying substance abuse problems.

He also agreed with Newsom.

"No, the war on drugs is not working. The war on drugs is not working because we are relying on law enforcement instead of on treatment," Hennessey said.

In a ten-minute tirade about the drug war's failure, Newsom told reporters that most politicians - including those in his own party - just don't have the guts to admit the obvious.

"It's laughable that anyone could look at themselves with a straight face and say 'oh,we're really succeeding.' I mean it's comedy. And as I say, shame on my party, the democratic party, because they don't have the courage of their private thoughts, because we don't want to appear weak on this topic," Newsom said.

The mayor said the 'politicizing' of the illegal drug use issue prevents a discussion about real solutions to the drug epidemic.

"End this war on drugs. Now, that is an attack ad by any politician, what I just said, they would be desperate to find that tape of what I just said," Newsom said.

The mayor insisted, however, that he wasn't calling for the legalization of all drugs - just a recognition that the current approach isn't working.

"I'm not saying (legalization). I'm saying get real about it," he explained. "So what does that mean? Well, it means a lot of things. It means this war on drugs is an abject failure."

Local substance abuse counselors welcomed Newsom's candor, while critics rejected it.

"I think the mayor probably has the right idea as far as turning the money away from the current approach, incarceration, and hopefully he's talking about turning the money toward more prevention programs," said Meredith Charpantier, a former drug counselor.

But Gary Delagnes, who heads the San Francisco Police Officers Association, said ending the war on drugs wouldn't bring an end to crime.

"I don't think that you give in to a problem by just acquiesing. I think that there does have to be control and I don't think legalizing drugs is the answer," he said.

Delagnes pointed to three murders occuring in San Francisco on Wednesday alone, which means the city has already surpassed last year's homicide total.

"When we see the homicides in San Francisco, I mean this all centers around drugs," Delagnes continued. "This is gangs and drug violence, this is money. It's all about money all the time."

There have been 89 murders in San Francisco so far in 2007, up from 85 murders during all of 2006.