Professor Jesse Choper, Allen Hopper and Dr. Nora Volkow were among speakers at Marijuana Regulation: A Clash of State and Local Policy, a panel discussion held on August 7th at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association.
The Voluntary Committee of Lawyers hosted an event, Marijuana Legalization: Legal and Practical Issues in California, on August 6th to coincide with the Annual American Bar Association Meeting in San Francisco.
At what age can an individual reasonably be expected to have the maturity to use marijuana? On August 3rd, Eric Sterling poses this question on Just Say Now, in a post titled "Happy Birthday President Obama - What Do You Say Now?." A project of Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Firedoglake, Just Say Now is a transpartisan coalition that aims to end marijuana prohibition.
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On July 22nd the Houston Chronicle published "Law Would Give U.S. Tools to Punish Drug Barons" an op-ed by Eric Sterling regarding S. 1789. Known to be an important step in reducing the injustice of the 100-1 crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity, it also would substantially increase fines that can be ordered against large-scale drug traffickers. S. 1789 was approved by the Senate this spring and may be up for a vote in the House of Representatives very soon.
On June 20th, Drug Truth Network posted several clips of Eric Sterling discussing drug policy with guest host Otis McLay. Topics covered include mandatory minimum sentences and their enactment, treatment scams, and the Obama Administration's current approach to drug policy.
On June 17th Eric Sterling spoke on the topic "Protecting Treatment from the Criminal Justice System" at New Directions DC: A Public Health and Safety Approach to Drug Policy. The day-long event was held on Capitol Hill and sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, National Association of Social Workers, National Black Police Association and Physicians for Human Rights.
On June 7th, Charles Shaw at openDemocracy posted an article about Eric Sterling's leadership in drug policy reform, along with The Failed Politics of Sentencing Reform, a paper Sterling released at "Rethinking Federal Sentencing Policy and the 25th Anniversary of the Sentencing Reform Act," an event hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus in June 2009.
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On May 27th, as the United States Sentencing Commission heard expert testimony regarding federal mandatory minimum sentences, Eric Sterling was interviewed by Free Speech Radio News about the role of race in drug sentencing.
In response to a May 18 Denver Post editorial Will feds allow state pot laws?, Eric Sterling wrote a letter to the editor published on May 20th, explaining that a key obstacle to implementing medical marijuana laws may be the new nominee for DEA adminstrator, Michele Leonhart. He suggests that senators should question her about this issue during confirmation hearings.
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On Sunday, April 25, 2010, Eric Sterling spoke to the Peace and Social Justice Committee of the Bethesda Friends Meeting in the Sidwell Friends School about structural racism and American drug policy.
In response to an April 19th Washington Post editorial about implementation of the District of Columbia's medical marijuana law, Eric Sterling wrote a letter to the editor that was published on April 26, 2010. Sterling argues that the key obstacle to implementation is federal drug law and the DEA and that the Senate Judiciary Committee should question the nominee for DEA administrator, Michelle Leonhardt, about her willingness to work with the growing number of states that have enacted medical marijuana laws. So far, her record in this area is one of marked resistence.
On April 16 and 17, 2010, Eric Sterling met with doctors, researchers and patients at the 6th National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, sponsored by Patients Out of Time, in Warwick, Rhode Island.
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On March 26, 2010, Eric Sterling spoke at the Annual Summit of the National African-American Drug Policy Coalition about innovative treatment for cocaine addiction.
On March 20, 2010, Eric Sterling spoke on the panel, "From Colombia to Mexico: Better Approaches to an Inhumane Drug War," at the annual gathering called Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace and Justice in Arlington, VA. He discussed the necessity and techniques for members of the faith community to reach key partners in the community, such as business leaders, to accomplish their prophetic vision of peace and justice.
On March 10, 2010, Eric Sterling spoke at the Institute for International Education in Washington D.C. to 18 top criminal justice officials from12 Francophone African nations who were guests of the U.S. Department of State. His topic was the U.S. criminal justice system and the U.S. Constitution. He arranged for a copy of the U.S. Constitution translated into French to be provided to each official and summarized the criminal justice features of the Constitution. He discussed the complex relationships between municipal, county, state and Federal criminal justice agencies; the problems of racism in the criminal justice system; and issues of drug prohibition and control.
Julia Dahl quotes Eric Sterling in Pipe Dreams, a March 14th post on The Crime Report that is the first in a two-part series examining national trends in marijuana policy. Sterling notes that state legislators' support of marijuana legalization suggests the issue is moving into the mainstream.
On March 13th and 14th Eric Sterling spoke at the National Conference of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. His panels were titled "Is the Drug War Racist?" and "Spirituality and Drug Reform: the moral questions and how to collaborate with university chaplains and the faith community."
In mid-March, Eric Sterling submitted a statement to the Maryland General Assembly regarding H.B.712/S.B.627 An Act Concerning Public Health - Medical Marjiuana.
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On February 23, 2010, Eric Sterling testified at a rescheduled hearing of the Washington, DC City Council Committees on Health and Public Safety and the Judiciary in support of B18-622, a bill that would amend the District of Columbia's medical marijuana law.
On February 6, 2010, Eric Sterling and Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance appeared with David Evans and John Coleman here in the inaugural broadcast of Two Way Street, a PBS Series in which experts with opposing opinions discuss pressing issues.
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On January 27, 2010, Eric Sterling testified before the Virginia House of Delegates on behalf of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) regarding medical marijuana and marijuana decriminalization bills in the State of Virginia. His testimony is available here and here.
On January 20, 2010, CJPF co-sponsored an open forum on Heroin Assisted Treatment (HAT) organized by the Drug Policy Alliance and George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. Speakers included domestic and international research scientists and local policy makers.
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Eric Sterling was the keynote speaker at the SSDP Northeast Regional Conference at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island on December 8, 2009. Here is a link to video clips of his remarks.
On December 3, 2009, Eric Sterling spoke regarding the legalization of medical marijuana at a day-long conference of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy in Tucson, AZ. A copy of his prepared remarks is available here.
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On October 28, 2009, Eric Sterling spoke before the Senate of Canada Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, regarding a proposed bill that provides for mandatory minimum sentences, drug treatment courts and other matters. Mr. Sterling's written statement (a "brief" in the terminology of the Parliament of Canada) can be found here.
Eric Sterling's comment at a Cato Institute program on Oct. 1, 2009, on the problems of criminal law was picked up in a report on the forum.
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