Drug Policy Alliance Action Center:

By signing the petition below, you can tell the drug czar what you'd like to see in his blueprint for the next three years of U.S. drug policy.

I urge the drug czar to create an exit strategy for the war on drugs. As part of that strategy, I hope the federal government will step out of the way so states can try new drug policies.

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Below is the full text we will submit to the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske:

Dear Director Kerlikowske,

We write to urge you to make the 2010 Drug Control Strategy you are working on an exit strategy for the war on drugs. Our nation has spent hundreds of billions of dollars and incarcerated millions of its own citizens, yet illegal drugs are cheaper, purer and more available than ever. It is time for fresh thinking and new policies.

A core piece of this exit strategy should be getting the federal government out of the way so states can implement alternatives. The Obama Administration is on the right track with its new guidance to federal prosecutors that they should not arrest medical marijuana patients or providers who are complying with state law. This policy should be extended to other areas, as well. States that want to make marijuana legal and treat it like alcohol, adopt European-style harm reduction models, or otherwise experiment with new approaches to drugs and drug policy should be allowed to do so.

We are inspired by your past statements about treating drug-related problems largely as a demand reduction issue and moving U.S. drug policy away from the rhetoric and tactics of war. The 2010 Drug Control Strategy is the perfect opportunity to describe in detail what you mean. President Obama is right that drug use should be treated as a health issue instead of a criminal justice issue. It’s time to end the failed war on drugs.