‘The Wire’ Creator David Simon on Drug War, Lack of Options for ‘The Other America’ | AlterNet

Felicia "Snoop" Pearson

In an essay published two years ago in Time magazine, the writers of The Wire made the argument that we believe the war on drugs has devolved into a war on the underclass, that in places like West and East Baltimore, where the drug economy is now the only factory still hiring and where the educational system is so crippled that the vast majority of children are trained only for the corners, a legal campaign to imprison our most vulnerable and damaged citizens is little more than amoral. And we said then that if asked to serve on any jury considering a non-violent drug offense, we would move to nullify that jury’s verdict and vote to acquit. Regardless of the defendant, I still believe such a course of action would be just in any case in which drug offensesabsent proof of violent actsare alleged.

He also noted that Pearson’s acting career has for the most part tapered off since The Wire concluded. ‘She worked hard as an actor and was entirely professional, but the entertainment industry as a whole does not offer a great many roles for those who can portray people from the other America. There are, in fact, relatively few stories told about the other America.’

Read the full statement here.

via AlterNet.

Smoke a Joint and Your Whole Family Could End Up Homeless

For 40 years, we have been waging a “war on drugs.” Families are being kicked out of housing when many have done nothing wrong. Drug addiction is bad. But the war on drugs is worse. Frances Johnson, a 68-year-old grandmother in Washington, D.C faced eviction simply because her grandson was arrested for possessing a small amount of marijuana.

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