But the real war is for the country�s drug budget�money that nearly every part of the federal bureaucracy receives, say those who want stronger public health policies, social services and economic development to stem the drug crisis.

"The drug war isn�t winnable because there�s too much money involved. We�ve learned that there are more drugs coming into this country than ever before. They are purer than ever, and the price of drugs are 25 percent less than they were when the War on Drugs began," said David Smokler, president of the Detroit chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, the county�s first integrated bar association.

Mr. Smokler explained the Guild�s national efforts to stop the drug war, which he says is devastating America�s communities, during "Beyond the War on Drugs: Why it Failed, What it Costs and What Now," a national convention held April 27-28 at Wayne State University�s Law School in Detroit.

More than 350 attorneys, political and community leaders, activists, public policy analysts and students attended the conference, which outlined the drug war�s past and used powerful workshops, town hall meetings and forums to develop a community plan of action.

Drug money for law enforcement, prevention and education, alongside funds for substance abuse treatment are natural budget items, explained Kevin B. Zeese, president of Common Sense for Drug Policy (CSDP), in Washington, D.C. But other agencies like NASA and national parks also get drug money, for whatever reason, he said.

Black analysts repeated the charge that America�s War on Drugs is aimed at controlling populations of color through the criminal justice system, promoting myths about substance abuse and treatment and implementing unjust public policy and laws.

According to Mr. Zeese, it is evident that this drug war is doing more harm than good.

"By recognizing that drug abuse is primarily a health problem, with social and economic consequences, the solutions become more obvious. The solutions lie in public health, social services and economic development. Make treatment easily available and accessible, prevent adolescent drug use by investing in educational programs and restore justice to the justice system by ending racial profiling and discrepancies in sentencing," Mr. Zeese said.

The War on Drugs has fueled the HIV/AIDS epidemic, higher rates of deaths from drug overdose and the influx of drug testing, according to Mr. Zeese. It has also given the criminal justice system the tools necessary to legally house and enslave generations of Black Americans, he said.

"Every stage of the criminal justice process is racially unfair. There are seven times as many white drug users and whites are on the top of the drug market. There are more white dealers than Black, but two-thirds of the drug prisoners are African American," he said.

Since the late 1970s, the country has had a record number of overdose deaths and drug related emergency room incidents, CSDP�s Drug War Facts reveal. Half of new cases of HIV/AIDS stem from intravenous drug use and 65 percent are women infected by their partners or through drug use. Statistics also show that 95 percent of all pediatric AIDS cases are drug related.

Furthermore, Drug War Facts reveal the nation�s incarceration rates are the highest in the world and are driven by the drug market. The U.S. average of incarcerated individuals is 1.6 million a year. Although the nation only makes up 5 percent of the world�s population, it has 25 percent of the world�s prisoners.

"Either Americans are 7.5 times more evil than people in the rest of the world, or there�s something wrong with our policies, which can be directly attributed to the War on Drugs," said Sanho Tree of the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive, multi-issue Washington-based think tank.

America is failing in her war on drugs, that is why she is lashing out at other countries, he said.

"Part of the problem is that we�re trying to crack down on a prohibition marketplace and the policies that you would impose in an open market actually backfire. If you try to constrict the supply through law enforcement and eradication, while the constant demand is still there, it entices more poor people into this (drug) trade. It�s not a supply problem, it�s a demand problem," Mr. Tree said.

Andre L. Johnson, a 31-year-old Black male, agrees and says he and his family have experienced the devastation of that demand. His aunt was incarcerated for a drug related incident and died of AIDS in prison. After her death, one of her sons also died of AIDS from drug abuse, and another son was killed as a result of a drug deal gone bad. Two other cousins, Mr. Johnson said, were killed in drug related crimes.

Now Mr. Johnson, a former drug user and dealer, serves as a Partnership Project officer for the Detroit Health Department�s Bureau of Substance Abuse, where he promotes prevention in some of the same communities where he once sold drugs.

The once high school drop out and convicted felon went on to receive a bachelors and masters degree and is now celebrating 13 years of being drug free.

"Looking at my own personal tragedies and those in my family motivated me to get my life together. I was one of those kids that everyone said would be dead or in jail by the time I reached 21. My probation officer kept taking me to treatment and that was the best thing that could�ve happened for me," Mr. Johnson said.

Mr. Johnson, who is helping to organize Detroit�s Safer and Sober Kick Off Rally on May 25, says instead of targeting drug profiteers, anti-drug programs should be everywhere in the Black community, where young drug dealers and users are at the bottom of the drug cartel ladder and are destroying families.

"Our success and values are defined by what we wear and what we drive. If we have to rob, steal, destroy and kill to support that success, we�re successful. Young people that are getting involved with drugs by using and selling don�t understand the dynamics that lead to incarceration and addiction. Instead of spending more on the War on Drugs, the government needs to allocate money on treatment, prevention and intervention to educate the youth about drug realities and disparities," Mr. Johnson said.

Spearheading legislation reform in drug sentencing disparity is Black Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), who has proposed two bills to tackle the War on Drugs: the Federal Drug Treatment Alternative Act and the Offender and Community Safety Act. According to Atty. Melody L. Light, Rep. Conyers� legislative advisor, the laws would replace the "one size fits all" mandatory minimum probation or imprisonment with substance abuse treatment, rehabilitation and community re-entry programs. The legislation also makes provisions for enhanced in-prison vocational and related training.

While a change in legislation may lead to drastic changes in the criminal courts, Americans must acquire a new moral standard, which cannot be changed through legislation, said Min. Dawud Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque No. 1 and the Michigan representative of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

"There is no War on Drugs and there never has been. Drugs don�t do anything without people. The war is not on drugs, it�s on the poor and under-privileged," Min. Dawud said.

"You cannot change people�s attitudes psychologically or spiritually through legislation. You can only attempt to grasp it and understand the fundamentals of what draws people towards certain types of conduct and behavior. The war is always internal and must be addressed in the appropriate manner," he said.

For the Black community, in particular, restoring the role of the man in the family is key to placing a dent in drug markets in neighborhoods, said Ron Brown, executive director of Fathers Helping Fathers, a national support group for men.

"The War on Drugs starts at home. The strength of the family has a lot to do with what channel kids are directed towards in life," Mr. Brown said.