Released Drug-War Prisoner to Speak at Women’s Forum

Amy Ralston (Pofahl), one of a handful of women granted clemency by President Clinton for drug-related crimes, will be a featured speaker at “Women and the Drug War,” a forum sponsored by The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation. The forum will address the impact of the War on Drugs on women and families. Other speakers will be Ellen Barry, Founding Director, Legal Services for Women
with Children; Barbara Owen of the Department of Criminology, CSU Fresno; and Andrea Shorter from the Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice, San Francisco.

When: Thursday, March 8, 2001 (International Women’s Day) 5-7 PM
Where: The San Francisco Medical Society; 1409 Sutter (at Franklin) , San Francisco, CA

The forum is Open to the Public Please email [email protected] or phone (415) 921-4987 to reserve a space.

Women and the Drug War Data

• From 1980 to 1994, the number of women entering US prisons increased by 386%.–Human Rights Watch, Women’s Rights Project. Federal Bureau of Investigations, Crime in the United States, 1991.

• Drug-abusing women offenders constitute one of the fastest growing segments within the criminal justice system, while few receive treatment in custody or in the community. Many are also single parents who are deterred from seeking treatment because few programs provide accommodations for infants and children.–National Institute of Justice, Drug-Abusing Women Offenders: Results of a National Survey. October 1994.
• Presently, 51% of the females admitted to California state prisons are sentenced for drug violations compared to 39% of male admittees.