A message from the Editor

I am enthusiastic about the formation of the November Coalition. As editor, and webmaster I will dedicate myself to the service of its members and please, feel free to contact me at any time.

When we wrote our mission statement for this organization, we decided on a few key items:

• To end the War on Drugs.
• Lend support to the casualties of war.
• Give active support to proponents who are calling for an end to present Drug Policy.

I too am a casualty of the War on Drugs. I have never been arrested, nor have I ever been accused of any crime. My brother was however, and in 1988 my entire family became casualties with him.

I know full well the entire tide and scope of emotions that dog us. I've taken hold of a brittle shred of hope and wrung my hands in despair as it crumbled. I too battle the paralyzing depression.

Our days and some of our dark nights we struggle with the enormity of what our loved ones who are incarcerated feel - every hour of every day. Even a glimmer of my brother's agony sends me spinning in anguish.

I know what it is like to become practiced at shoving the reality aside, burying memories, anything to cope with the sadness. I've shoved emotion down and away. . . I know that to pick up a pen to write a draft letter to your congressman, or sit down to pound out a letter to the editor will bring it all crashing back. It all begins to surface and wraps us in gloom. We feel powerless.

We are not powerless however, it is true that the pen is mightier than the sword. America has opened the door to a rational discourse on the War on Drugs and all of us need to work with a fervor to see it continue.

The week of February 12, 1997 a copy of the essay, Holocaust In America - the Drug War, was sent to every Representative and Senator in the U.S.

Our strategy is to make the casualties of the war on drugs visible. In the near future we plan on making POW - Prisoner of the War on Drugs - bracelets available at cost. If four people on the outside, wore one for every incarcerated loved one, we would have the visible numbers of over two million! We are also planning peaceful demonstrations, so stay informed and join our coalition today. In the meantime, I ask that once a week you set aside a portion of your day to write a letter to your legislators. Remember that you are not alone in the plea for drug peace.

Nora Callahan

For further reading: Why The Drug War Cannot Succeed, by Gary and Nora Callahan