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Parents Ending Prohibition . . . because there are better ways to protect kids ! |
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I'm very pleased to present another editorial from my husband, Bill. St. Patrick's Day has always been special to us because of our family's Irish roots, and this year we've both been struck by the similarities between wars, both here and abroad. We wish all who find themselves prisoners to politics much healing and less suffering. Love, Erin |
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Dear friends, March 17th, 2005 A song that pops into my head whenever I see the pictures from last August's Oregon demonstration against the policies of the Bush administration is "The Men Behind the Wire," by the Wolfe Tones -- "Armoured cars and tanks and guns Came to take away our sons But every man must stand behind The men behind the wire." This Saint Patrick's Day I had the opportunity to speak by phone with Ciaran Ferry, a victim of both the Troubles in Ireland and the United States "protection" of Homeland Security. In a nutshell, Ciaran was a political prisoner held in Long Kesh in Northern Ireland until freed in 2000 under the Good Friday Accord. He married a U.S. citizen later that year, and while visiting her family in Colorado that Christmas, decided to stay in the U.S. This was due to the combination of the expected birth of their daughter, and the fact that Ciaran's name was on a pro-British hit list. Despite doing his best to adapt to his new country by finding work and filing all of the appropriate paperwork, Ciaran still found himself on the wrong end of the law when he was arrested in early 2003 for his past activities in Ireland. After almost two years of high security imprisonment, denied the legal recourse generally granted to those in his position, Ciaran finally accepted deportation back to Ireland as his only option. Forced for two years to see his wife and daughter only through inches of thick glass, Ferry now has to endure six thousand more miles of separation - a high price to pay for his freedom. His only other option, while continuing his battle with the U.S. government, is to bring his family to a country where even his daughter's life has been threatened. |
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Why am I talking about this in a forum devoted to the War on Drugs? Because it touches on two things that we also see threatened on a continual basis - freedom, and family. I am fortunate to have both of these intact, but as a battlefield participant in the War on Drugs, I have seen how easily they can be taken away from us. |
There is an eerie similarity in the billboards showing Bryan Epis' daughter, Ashley, holding up a sign saying "My Dad is not a criminal!", and the photos of Ciaran Ferry's daughter holding a "Don't Deport My Daddy" placard. Our government is becoming all too used to tearing families apart, simply to satisfy an increasingly remote illusion of "security." |
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Additionally, as vouched for by recent conversations on the PEP discussion list, the stability of family life is affected by more than the threat of jail. Medical use of cannabis, especially in states that don't recognize it legally, can irreparably damage one's standing in a court of law. The financial and social penalties can be huge, with little or no benefit to the children involved. There is no justice here, only an adherence to increasingly cruel points of law. As parents, our focus is on what is best for our children. Honest, comprehensive drug education must be combined with a demand for sane and compassionate drug regulation. Preserving and prioritizing family integrity is crucial to creating a better society, and the War on Drugs has become a scandalon in this regard. Prohibition does far more damage to our families than the use of any substance ever has or will. Just as Ciaran Ferry remains separated from his wife and daughter, too many American drug war prisoners and refugees suffer the same fate. We must unite, communicate, educate, and demonstrate until these destructive and inhuman policies are changed. Fondly, Bill |
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