WHO WE ARE

The original Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR) was founded in 1929 to rescue America’s families and communities from the ravages of ten years of alcohol prohibition. These women had been instrumental in bringing about alcohol prohibition, yet once they saw the damage this was having on their homes, families and communities, they united to bring about an end to this failed and unconstitutional legislation.

In 2006, after thirty years of a failed “War on Drugs”, the tragic consequences of prohibition are back – gang warfare, arbitrary and racially biased enforcement, corrupt politicians, and broken homes. It is clear that the drug war is a war on families, children, women, minorities, the poor and the disenfranchised. The facts are startling– mothers of nearly 200,000 children are incarcerated. That’s means that 72 percent of women on probation, 70 percent of women in local jails, 65 percent of women in state prisons and 59 percent of women in federal prisons have minor children. More startling is these statistics only represent the number of women and children in the prison system affected by the drug war. The incarceration of parents has a generational impact. It has been proven that children who have a parent in jail are twice as likely as their peers to spend time in prison themselves.

As women, we have the ability to unite for a common good. As the life-bearers of this planet, we have a duty to protect and defend the children. We cannot allow our children and grandchildren to lose the rights their ancestors suffered for and died defending. They deserve to grow up in a free America. It is our responsibility as women to learn the facts on this issue, to share our knowledge and begin to raise awareness of the crimes our system is committing.