Cliff Thornton is the founder and president of Efficacy, a non-profit working on peaceful solutions to social problems with a specific focus on crime prevention and substance abuse.

If in fact, whites were arrested and incarcerated for illegal use, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Because there would literally be an armed insurrection in the streets. The race issue is what keeps this thing in place. I mean class, too. But I’ve seen many middle class blacks in prison for drug charges.

Most people in the drug policy reform movement do not attack this in the way this should be attacked. It is a health problem, that is without a doubt, it is a health problem not a law enforcement problem. But if one does not understand racism, classism, white privilege, and the War on Drugs; what these concepts mean, and how these concepts work, everything else you know will only confuse you. I don’t care who the hell it is, from the President of the United States to the lowest job down there, I’ll tell them the same thing.

When you look at terrorism and terrorist organizations, 40% of the revenue derived by terrorist organizations is derived from the sale of illegal drugs. The United Nations said that in 1996. Heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

The way in which we start reform, is first of all- two approaches. A broad brush approach is the one to take. The only way to cripple the black market it to take the rug out from under them. We will never come to grips doing what we’re doing. Make sense?