An evaluation of US Drug War policy in the context of the
UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the US Bill of
Rights. Analysis plus more than 20 case stories to illustrate how
current US policy is a direct violation of the approved international
standard for human rights, including the right to privacy, to
medicine, to family, to culture, to religion, and to
property. Furthermore it catalogs violations of due process and the
increasing use of cruel and unusual punishments in the form of
mandatory minimum sentences and establishing the death penalty for
non-violent drug offenses. This official-looking book is 8-1/2 by
5-1/2 inches, 62 pages, black and white pages with a blue, black and
white cover bearing the UN logo. There are photos of prisoners and
casualties of the Drug War throughout, and appendices include a
resource guide, a list of established human rights, and a Drug War
Truce that includes peace negotiations between the government and
people. It is a smaller spin off of the book, Shattered Lives:
Portraits from the US Drug War, similarly based on the Human Rights
and the Drug War photo exhibit, with some new information.
Chris Conrad is production and art director, editor and
writer for the Human Rights and the Drug War (HRDW/HR 95) Exhibit
Project. He is author of
Hemp: Lifeline to the Future and
Hemp for Health, director of the Business Alliance for Commerce
in Hemp (BACH) and the Family Council on Drug Awareness, designing
curator of the Hash / Marihuana / Hemp Museum of Amsterdam, and past
president of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA). A popular guest on
radio talk shows around the country, Mr. Conrad is an internationally
recognized expert and consultant on topics related to cannabis and
prohibition, and has met with government officials in the US, Canada,
Holland, Germany and other countries. As Californians for Medical
Rights' Community Action Coordinator, he organized grassroots activist
groups statewide to petition and qualify the Medical Marijuana
Initiative (Prop 215) for the ballot. He addressed a special hearing
of the UN Committee on Reorganization regarding human needs, and has
testified at numerous state and local government. He regularly
contributes articles and reports to various books and publications,
and is among a handful of civilians who have been qualified as expert
legal witnesses on hemp and marijuana in the Superior Court of
California.
Mikki Norris is creator, curator, and co-coordinator of the Human
Rights and the Drug War (HRDW/HR 95) Exhibit Project. She works with
the Family Council on Drug Awareness, a public policy think tank which
researches and develops materials on drug-related issues. As community
action co-coordinator for Californians for Medical Rights, she helped
organize petitioners to qualify the California Medical Marijuana
Initiative (Prop. 215) for the 1996 ballot. Ms. Norris advocates harm
reduction and tolerance policies to reduce drug abuse while protecting
families and civil liberties. She has traveled around the US and
Europe collecting information and networking with hundreds of groups
and individuals that are involved with drug policy reform. Ms. Norris
is a former teacher with a BA in sociology and an MA in Special
Education. She has worked on numerous peace and justice issues.
Virginia Resner is creator, curator, and co-coordinator of the Human
Rights and the Drug War (HRDW/HR 95) Exhibit Project. As California
coordinator for Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), she
organizes local public events and meetings to muster public support
for changing sentencing laws. She provides information and support
through correspondence to prisoners and their families, to public
officials and media. She joined FAMM in 1991 after her boyfriend was
arrested by the federal government and her home raided in a
warrantless search. She has lobbied in Washington DC to change
mandatory sentencing laws and began working on the FAMM Women's
Project when she realized how many women are being targeted by current
policy. An experienced public speaker, she was drawn into HR 95 due to
her empathy and desire to help form support systems for families of
prisoners. Born & raised in a progressive activist family in San
Francisco, Ms. Resner's father was a prominent labor lawyer.
