Hi there,

While general admission tickets are currently sold out, you can still get VIP tickets for our 30th Anniversary Celebration on Monday, February 23rd at the Riverside Church in NYC. We will be joined by legendary activist and scholar Angela Davis, singer, songwriter, artist, activist Michael Stipe, jazz icon Wynton Marsalis, award winning journalist Naomi Klein, Nobel Peace Laureate Maria Ressa and more very special guests. Get your VIP tickets before they sell out!

If you can't make it to the event, show your support of our fearless, independent journalism with a donation. Please donate in honor of our 30th anniversary today, so we can keep shining a spotlight on the grassroots movements fighting for democracy and challenging abuses of power around the world. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

New York Gov. George Pataki Urges Reform of Rockefeller Drug Laws, Drug Czar Gen. Mccaffreycontinues the War On Drugs

Listen
Media Options
Listen

This week, New York’s Republican Governor George Pataki called for the easing of New York’s Rockefeller drug laws.The laws, enacted under Gov. Nelson Rockefeller in the 1970s, are among the harshest in the nation and can bringmandatory life sentences for possession of small amounts of illicit drugs.

Meanwhile, White House drug czar General Barry McCaffrey issued his final report yesterday.

Despite calling for continued prevention, education and treatment, McCaffrey stressed the need for President-selectGeorge W. Bush to maintain the war on drugs. McCaffrey helped develop the $1.3 billion aid package for the Colombianmilitary to fight left-wing insurgents under cover of a regional drug war.

Guests:

  • Jan Warren, former inmate of 12 years, released on clemency January 2000; former president of the onlyprison chapter of the National Organization of Women.
  • Randy Credico, William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice.
  • Kevin Zeese, President, Common Sense for Drug Policy.

Related Story

StoryFeb 10, 2026Protecting Pedophile Predators: Carole Cadwalladr on Jeffrey Epstein & the Elite’s Veil of Silence
The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top