One small step in Albany, one giant leap for drug policy reform

When I started this blog over a year ago, even my closest friends mocked me for thinking the drug policy reform movement could end this failed war on some drugs in our lifetime by working within the political system. Today, we are laughing on the way to the ballot box. In a stunning upset, political newcomer David Soares overwhelmed his former boss incumbent Paul Clyne by winning the nomination for Albany's district attorney. Not only will Soares be the first black man in contention for the position but he won with a wide margin by basing his campaign on promising reform of some of the most odious and inhumane drug laws in country, commonly called the Rockefeller Laws.

I hope this moment in history brings the poor folks whose lives over the past 4 decades were destroyed by Paul Clyne and his father, the late Judge John Clyne, a little comfort. And that it also sends a message to the other 61 district attorneys around the state of NY, that we have become a political force to be reckoned with.

As Ethan Nadelmann of Drug Policy Alliance said in response to the results, "I can't think of anything which will do more to change the prospects for Rockefeller drug law reform than this."