Newspaper
Columns and Op-Eds
Sterling, E.E. (2010, July 22). Law Would Give US Tools to Punish Drug Barons. The Houston Chronicle. This op-ed was published the week before the U.S. House of Representatives approved The Fairness in Sentencing Act of 2010, with broad bipartisan support. Signed into law on August 4, 2010, the bill was known to be an important step in reducing the injustice of the 100-1 crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity. In this op-ed Sterling points out little-known provisions that substantially increase fines that can be ordered against large-scale drug traffickers.
Sterling, E.E. (2010, May 19). Obama's DEA Nominee is a Threat to State Pot Laws. The Denver Post. In this letter to the editor, Sterling argues that the key obstacle to implementation of Colorado's medical marijuana law is federal drug law and the DEA. He suggests that the Senate Judiciary Committee should question Michele Leonhart, the nominee for DEA Administrator, about her willingness to work with the growing number of states that have enacted medical marijuana laws. Her prior record in this area is one of marked resistence.
Sterling, E.E. (2010, April 26). An Obstacle to DC's Medical Marijuana Law. The Washington Post. In this letter to the editor, Sterling explains that a key obstacle to implementing the District of Columbia's medical marijuana laws may be the new nominee for DEA adminstrator, Michele Leonhart. He suggests that senators should question her about this issue during confirmation hearings.
Sterling, E.E. (2009, July 29). Wasteful Drug Prosecutions. The Washington Post. In this letter to the editor, Eric Sterling argues that federal resources must target international drug trafficking, not crack and other neighborhood drug cases that can be effectively managed by state authorities.
Sterling, E.E. (2007, December 11). Another Item for Mukasey's To-Do List. The Washington Post. In this letter to the editor, Sterling argues that the 5,800 prosecutors in U.S. attorney's offices and 5,000 Drug Enforcement Administration special agents are precious global anti-crime resources that Mr. Mukasey should not allow to be wasted on retail drug cases. Instead the Attorney General should order that only drug cases with national or international significance be brought in federal court.
Sterling, E.E. (2006, November 28). A Crime Fighting Strategy That Works. West Hawaii Today. In this letter to the editor, Sterling comments on Hawai'i's high crime rate and the crime fighting role of a drug court he visited during the American Bar Association Annual Meeting in Hawai'i in August, 2006.
Sterling, E.E. (2006, November 13). Take Another Crack at that Cocaine Law. The Los Angeles Times. Sterling highlights several problems with the crack-cocaine sentencing disparity and calls for Congress to fix this unjust and ineffective law. This article was also published in the Christian Science Monitor, the Qatar Peninsula, The Wilmington News Journal, The Nashua Telegraph, and the Milwaukee Sheperd Express.
Sterling, E. E. (2006, June 24). Undo This Legacy of Len Bias's Death. The Washington Post. Sterling reflects on the death of Len Bias and the creation of new mandatory minimums created after Bias's death. These mandatory minimums have increased the prison population by 527 percent and have not made any progress in lowering drug use. This article was also printed in the Hartford Courant, Juneau Empire, and The Spokesman Review.
Sterling, E. E. (2006, January 15). Our Dead-End Approach to Homicide. The Washington Post.
Sterling explores the factors that have led to a growing murder rate in the DC region, such as untreated mental illness, the breakdown of the family, and an inadequate juvenile justice system. Sterling suggests that more effective policing and police management could help to lower the murder rate and increase the number of solved homicide cases.
Sterling, E.E. (2005, October 6). Drug Policy: Failure at Home. Foreign Policy in Focus. Sterling outlines a history of reactionary drug policymaking that has led to wildly escalating expenditures and harsh, but ineffective punishment without reducing deaths, drug availability, drug quality or the spread of disease. He advocates privileging rational private sector analysis over emotional political rhetoric, expanding drug treatment availability and other harm reduction efforts, and considering a comprehensive control structure that would include taxation, licensing and regulation.
Sterling, E. E.
(2005, April 3). Mistake
with drug sentencing guidelines need to be resolved.
Greensboro News Record. Current federal mandatory
minimum sentences are ineffective because the Justice department
focuses on low-level cases. Congress needs to make the Justice
department focus on major cases.
Sterling, E. E.
(2001, March 25). Stuck
in a 'Traffic' jam. The Orange County Register. In
the movie, "Traffic," the daughter of the drug
czar (Michael Douglas), is a heroin addict. Knowing this,
the drug czar, rather than unveil a "new" drug
strategy of clichés, resigns. This op-ed lists 10-points
for a drug strategy designed to save lives.
Sterling, E. E.
(2000, December 28). A
time for Clinton judges to correct drug-term injustices.
San Diego Union Tribune. With only a few days left
in the Clinton administration, how can he decide which sentences
of the thousands of low-level drug offenders he should commute?
He could ask every federal judge to send him the name of
the one or two defendants they sentenced to a very long
term that they are losing sleep over. The Clinton administration
sent over 100,000 drug offenders to federal prison. Almost
everyone knows that in general, many of them no longer belong
there. The judges can act.
Sterling, E. E.
(2000, December 20). Pardon
me, please. Chicago Tribune. President Bill Clinton,
leaving office in a month, ought to commute the sentences
of non-violent low-level drug offenders, as urged by the
650-clergy members of the Coalition for Jubilee Clemency.
Pope John Paul II recognized 2000 as a Jubilee year and
urged "a gesture of clemency" to the imprisoned.
(On Dec. 23, Clinton commuted the sentences of the two women
identified in the article, Kemba Smith and Dorothy Gaines).
Sterling, E. E.
(2000, July 3). Uncle
Sam's 'cookie' is watching you. Christian Science
Monitor. Violating federal internet regulations, the
White House ONDCP was placing "cookies" on the
computers of citizens visiting their website. Such surveillance
violates the Fourth Amendment protection against warrantless
searches, threatens political speech about drug policy,
and counter-productively deters concerned citizens from
learning about drug treatment and education.
Sterling, E. E.
(2000, April 30). Sentencing
is perverse in war on drugs. Chicago Sun Times,
p.40A and (2000, May 9). …And
justice for all. The Baltimore Sun, p. 15A. U.S.
Army Col. James Hiett was allowed to plead guilty to a less-serious
offense for his role in helping his wife ship 15.8 pounds
of heroin from Colombia to the U.S. Usually such a case
would draw mandatory minimums of 10 years or more. The arbitrary
application of sentences is a "stench in every federal
courthouse."
Sterling, E. E.
(1999, December 6). Legalize
Drugs or Expect More Mass Graves. Los Angeles Times
and (1999, December 8). Mass
graves tell the story of our failed drug policy. Houston
Chronicle, pp. 45A. Violence is inevitable in the drug
trade. The President's claims of success are hollow, and
his desire to "work with" Mexican authorities,
such as their corrupt drug czar is pointless. Regulation,
licensing and taxation are needed to end the violence, and
control drug use.
Sterling, E. E.
(1999, September 3). The
untold drug bust. Washington Times, pp. A17.
A drug bust found heroin in the food service coffee packets
on a commercial airliner, along with a hand grenade. But
such a headline grabbing drug bust disguises the failure
of drug prohibition to keep hundreds of tons of drugs from
coming into the country or away from high school kids.
Sterling, E. E.
(1999, January 12). Lying
Is the American Way. Los Angeles Times. The U.S.
Senate is preparing to try impeached President Clinton.
Washington awaits the rumored testimony of admitted liar
Monica Lewinsky to prove the President's perjury. Yet perjury
is widespread in the criminal justice system as shown in
the PBS Frontline broadcast, "Snitch," to run
tonight.
Sterling, E. E.
(1998, March 22). One
Prescription Doesn't Cure All. Washington Post,
pp. C12. Fairfax County, VA school's "zero-tolerance"
policy doesn't make sense. It rejects the notion that children
are educated by ideas, information and reason.
Sterling, E. E.
(1997, August 4). Disparity
in crack, powder cocaine sentences. Chicago Tribune,
sec. 1 pp. 11. To address the glaring racial disparity in
federal cocaine prosecutions, Attorney General Janet Reno
and "drug czar" Barry McCaffrey propose raising
the triggers for mandatory minimum sentence for crack from
5 grams to 25, and from 50 grams to 250 grams. But this
is a debate about the size of minnows when the "big
fish" drug importers who arrange multi-million gram
shipments are getting away because the Justice department
is focusing on the lowest-level offenders.
Sterling,
E. E. (1995, May 22). Drug
Policy of a Failed User.
Legal Times: Law and Lobbying in the Nation's Capital.
Nationwide polls show the public thinks the war on drugs
is a failure, and teen drug use is rising dramatically.
D.A.R.E. is ineffective. The Rand Corp. points out that
international organized crime needs a higher emphasis than
simply interdicting drugs in the "pipeline," or
low-level domestic offenders. The public health community
universally endorses sterile syringe exchange to stop the
spread of HIV and AIDS. Marijuana is being used medically,
despite the closure of the federal program that operated
without controversy under President Reagan until 1992. President
Clinton is offering no leadership, afraid that mentioning
drugs always brings up his memorable "I didn't inhale"
description of his youthful marijuana experiment.
Sterling, E.E. (1989, September 30). Harm
management, not drug-free nation, should become USA's anti-drug
objective. Law Enforcement News. (New York,
NY). The national mantra of a "drug-free America"
is immeasurable - it is not a goal. The many harms connected
with drug use and drug trafficking can be measured and can
be reduced if we focus on them, and end our obsession with
slogans and "sending messages. A look at Dr. William
Bennett's 5-point strategy shows that it is doomed to fail.
We need to think about managing the problem.
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Book
Chapters
Sterling, E.E. (2009). Foreword. Cannabinomics: The Marijuana Policy Tipping Point. (pp. xi-xxvi). Chicago: well mind books.
Sterling, E.E.
(2004). The War on Drugs Distracts from the War on Terror. Opposing Viewpoints: The War on Drugs. (pp. 97-100). New York:
Thompson Gale.
Originally published as Connect the Dots: You Don't Have to be an FBI Analyst to See the Picture.
Sterling, E. E.
(2004). Drug
Policy: A Challenge of values. Criminal Justice:
Retribution vs. Restoration. New York: Haworth Press.
Sterling, E. E.
(2004). A
Businessperson's Guide to the Drug Problem. The
New Prohibition (pp. 69-84). Lonedell, Missouri: Accurate
Press.
Sterling, E. E.
(2004, October). Tales
of a Recovering Drug Warrior. Under the Influence
(pp. 80-94).
Sterling, E. E.
(1997). Law
Enforcement Against Entheogens: Is It Religious Persecution.
Entheogens and the Future of Religion (pp. 165-170).
San Francisco, California: Council on Spiritual Practices.
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Magazine
and Journal Articles
Sterling, E. E.
(2000). Friendly
Fire. Haverford Alumni Magazine, pp. 1-8.
Sterling, E. E.
(2001, May). U.S.
Drug Policy: Failure at Home. Foreign Policy in Focus,
6(16).
Sterling, E. E.
(1995, January). A
Roadmap to the Crime Bill. Public Management,
77(1), 6-16.
Sterling, E. E.
(1995, November 2). The
Sentencing Boomerang: Drug Prohibition Politics and Reform.
Villanova Law Review, 40(2), 383-427.
Sterling, E. E.
(1993, November). A
Crime Prevention Vision. Christian Social Action,
pp. 4-6.
Sterling, E. E.
(1991, July). Trashing
the Bill of Rights. The Progressive, pp. 34-
38. Describes how each of the first ten Amendments to the
U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, is being undermined
by the war on drugs.
Drug Legalization: Now or Never?. (1990, May). The World And I, 108 - 119.
This is a debate between Edwin Meese, former U.S. attorney general; Reggie Walton, deputy director of ONDCP; David Boaz, senior fellow at the Cato Institute; and Eric E. Sterling of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation.
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Speeches
and Testimony
Sterling, E. E. (2005, October 21). The Camden Experience. Prepared for "Illicit Drugs - Burden & Policy" in Hartford, Connecticut.
Sterling, E. E.
(1995, May 15). Opening a Discussion About Effective Anti-Drug
Strategies. Prepared for "American Cities Against Drugs"
in Atlanta, Georgia.
Sterling, E. E.
(1995, October 27). Music and Politics. Prepared for the
Philadelphia Music Conference.
Sterling, E. E.
(1994, June 7). What Should We Do About Drugs? Strategies
For Managing The Drug Problem. Prepared for the Delaware
Council on Crime and Justice.
Sterling, E. E.
(1994, July 14). Testimony of Eric E. Sterling, J.D. President,
The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation Before the Committee
on the Judiciary Council of the District of Columbia on
the Resolution for a Federal Commission of Drug Policy of
1994.
Sterling, E. E.
(1994, September 13). Local Government Programs in the Crime
Bill. Prepared for the annual meeting of the International
City/County Management Association.
Sterling, E. E.
(1993, March 22). Testimony of Eric Sterling, President
of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation Before the United
States Sentencing Commission on Proposed Guideline Amendments
for Public Comment.
Sterling, E. E.
(1991, August 1). What Should We Do About Drugs?. Vital
Speeches Of The Day, 57(20).
Sterling, E. E.
(1991, November 9). Perspectives of the Narcotics Epidemic
and the War on Drugs. Prepared for a national teleconference
on the narcotics epidemic metropolitan Washington task force.
Sterling, E. E.
(1990, November 1). The Bill of Rights. Vital Speeches Of
The Day, 57(2).
Sterling, E. E.
(1989, November 2). A Model for a Regulated Market in Drugs:
Advantages and Drawbacks. Prepared for The Third International
Conference on Drug Policy Reform.
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CJPF
Statements
Sterling,
E. E. (1999, April 15). Racially Disproportionate Outcomes
in Processing Drug Cases.
Sterling,
E. E. (1999, July 29). Statement of Eric Sterling on Behalf
of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation to the Subcommittee
on Crime Committee on the Judiciary U.S. House of Representatives
on D.E.A. Oversight.
Sterling,
E. E. (1999, October 21). Drug Policy and the Friends Committee
on National Legislation's 1994 Statement of Legislative
Policy.
Sterling,
E. E. (1995, March). The Foundation of a Modern Drug Strategy:
Twelve Principles for Managing the Drug Problem.
Sterling,
E. E. (1995, October 27). Hemp Activism - A Short Manual
for Lobbying.
Sterling,
E. E. (1992, March 13). Some Conditions for Effective National
Anti-Drug Abuse and Anti-Drug Related Crime Strategies.
Sterling,
E. E. (1992. February 26). Looking for a way out of the narcotics
trap? Get a new "road map".
Sterling,
E. E. The Sentencing Controversy: Punishment and Policy in
the War on Drugs.
