Judge Jim Gray, a leading authority on drug policy and author of “Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It,” will speak at UCLA today.
Gray will be discussing his opinions on the flaws of the national drug policy and what should be done to combat a growing illegal narcotics market.
Students for Sensible Drug Policy at UCLA is hosting the event, which will take place in Bunche Hall at 6 p.m.
Gray will discuss his support for the discontinuation of the war on drugs in favor of a program that would legalize and regulate some drugs.
“People must be held accountable for their actions, instead of for what they put into their bodies,” Gray said in a statement on his Web site.
Gray believes the federal drug war has aggravated the drug problem by forcing it underground.
“The War on Drugs has directly created an enormously large and lucrative black market that has corrupted institutions, people in all walks of life, and, most especially, children, here and all around the world,” he said.
Gray, who completed his undergraduate education at UCLA in 1966, has presided over the Superior Court of Orange County since 1989. He was a candidate for U.S. Congress in 1998 and for U.S. Senate in 2004.
Lori Singer, vice president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy at UCLA and a fourth-year mathematics student, said she invited Gray to speak on behalf of the group.
Singer said she contacted Gray through Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an organization of law enforcement officials who speak out against the prohibition of narcotics.
“I was hoping to get someone from law enforcement to speak about drug reform, and I thought I might be able schedule a police officer. I was really excited when I heard Judge Gray was available,” Singer said.
Gray is scheduled to speak for about an hour, after which there will be a brief question and answer session. Students will be encouraged to learn about the ways they can get involved with drug reform, Singer said.
This will be the first event Students for Sensible Drug Policy has organized this year. Singer said she believes at least 40 people will attend.
Students for Sensible Drug Policy is a nationwide organization of college students who advocate taking a new approach to drug education and criminalization.
“If we don’t reform our drug laws, we’re going to be facing unnecessary prison growth, increased taxes, increased drug-related crimes and the loss of civil liberties,” said Alyssa Linn, president of Students for Sensible Drug Policy and a third-year American literature and culture student.
“One of the things we’re focusing on is getting rid of the DARE program, which is not only ineffective, but has been shown by some studies to be adversely effective,” Singer said.
The group also advocates the adoption of a “good samaritan” policy that would exempt students who call for help in a case of alcohol poisoning or drug overdose from facing criminal charges.
“You don’t want people to be afraid to call 911 because they don’t want to get busted,” Singer said.
Students for Sensible Drug Policy is busy planning its next activity after today’s speaker event.
Linn said she hopes to encourage students to attend a protest on Feb. 23 at the Los Angeles Courthouse on the behalf of Charles C. Lynch, who was convicted in August 2008 of distributing marijuana despite having acquired a permit from the city of Morro Bay to sell medical marijuana.
The UCLA chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy was founded in 2006. The group has grown steadily since then, and currently has 112 members on Facebook.