In any case, he continues to bring dishonor upon himself and his country.)

October 7, 1999

From The Washington Times
letter@twtmail.com
http://www.washtimes.com/
By Barry McCaffrey

DANGEROUS DRUG SMOKESCREEN

This week, under the smokescreen of "an adult approach to drug policy," the libertarian Cato Institute is hosting a "who's who" of those who want to make drugs legal in America. The term "reform" is, in this case, a subterfuge. At base, the goal of these individuals is not to reform our drug laws, but to do away with these laws and legalize dangerous drugs.

If there is any doubt about the goals of these individuals take them at their words.

(Marijuananews note: If they would really take our own words, then this might be an honest debate. One of the key differences between prohibitionists and anti-prohibitionists is that we want the public to know what the prohibitionists are really saying, while the prohibitionists almost never link to anti-prohibitionist web sites and consistently misrepresent the anti-prohibitionist position. I have had a lot of experience with this personally.)
See
The Drug Czar’s Testimony On "The Drug Legalization Movement In America" Has Three Parts:
Lie About The Anti-Prohibitionist Movement; Lie About Marijuana; Lie About The Netherlands.
With A Little Lying About Me.

New Mexico's Gov. Gary Johnson, the conference's keynote speaker, has called for legalization of drugs including heroin and marijuana.
(Marijuananews note: Johnson made very clear that he had very different ideas about regulations for marijuana and heroin, but the Czar is trying to create the impression that Johnson would treat them both the same way.)
See
Governor Johnson Says Legalize Marijuana; Czar Has A Fit. 2 Articles

Mr. Johnson has gone so far as to call cocaine, a drug that destroys millions of lives, "wonderful." His unwillingness to recognize the suffering caused by drug abuse is underscored by his veto of millions of dollars worth of drug treatment funds - money that would have helped New Mexicans with drug addictions to reclaim their lives.

(Marijuananews note: Johnson went to great lengths to emphasize his opposition to using any drugs, including alcohol.)

Similarly, under the smokescreen of drug policy reform, Ethan Nadleman, president of the Lindesmith Center, has called for "mak[ing] drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin legal" and gone so far as to "propose a mail order distribution system based on a right of access."

See
Legalize? "Marijuana Maybe" Says Soros Spokesman

He wants us to: "begin by testing low potency cocaine products - coca-based chewing gum or lozenges. If some people want to distill those products into something more potent, let them." For all the talk of reform and the like, it is clear the real agenda is the legalization of drugs in America.

In addition to concealing their real agenda, those who want to legalize drugs also go to extremes to confuse the public about America's efforts to fight drug use.

(Marijuananews note: How do we conceal our real agenda? It is on web sites and in books. That is a strange way to conceal anything.)

Compare their fictions to the real facts:

Fiction: Our efforts against drugs are a failure.

Fact: The 1999 National Household Survey found that overall youth drug use rates among children (age 8-12) are down 13 percent from last year. Among these children cocaine use is down 20 percent, inhalant use is down 45 percent and marijuana use is down 12 percent during the same period. The number of current cocaine users has dropped from 5.7 million in 1985 to 1.75 million in 1998 - a decline of more than 70 percent. We have reduced the number of drug related murders to a 10 year low. We have cut the amount of money Americans spend buying drugs by 37 percent between 1988 and 1995.

(Marijuananews note: Translation, the crack epidemic peaked years ago and prohibitionist related violence has consequently abated.)

Fiction: We are waging a war on drugs.

Fact: Wars are waged by armies using weapons to kill enemies.
See
Police Refuse To Return Money Taken From California Man They Killed
Until His Widow Submits To An Interview. "This is like extortion," Says Daughter
The primary goal of the National Drug Control Strategy is to educate young people to prevent them from ever trying drugs. Nor are drug taking Americans the enemy - they require our help to break free of their addictions. Police officers stop pushers from selling drugs to our children - we are not at war with ourselves, we are protecting America's future.

See
1997 Marijuana Arrests Hit 695,000 -- A New Record; Percentage Of Marijuana Arrests For Simple Possession Ties 1979 Record -- Analysis By Richard Cowan

Fiction: We are locking up small-scale marijuana drug users for long prison terms.

Fact: According to the most recent statistics available from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, in 1998 only 33 individuals sentenced for federal drug crimes involving marijuana were convicted for base offense levels involving less than 5,000 grams. During this same period, 1,229 individuals were convicted for marijuana offenses involving between 100,000 grams and 2,999,999 grams.

Finally, if there are so few small federal marijuana cases, that makes the decision to prosecute B. E. Smith all the more blatantly political.)
See
Was The Decision To Prosecute B. E. Smith Made At The White House?
The Key Question About The Selective Prosecution Of Medical Marijuana Activists.
Analysis -- By Richard Cowan

Fiction: Legalizing drugs would reduce the harms drugs cause to our society.

Fact: Drugs are illegal because they are dangerous, not vice versa.

(Marijuananews note: If this is so, then why are alcohol and tobacco not illegal? Not to mention many other substances that are available over the counter.)
See
More For The "They Are Legal, So They Must Be Safe" Files
Context For Medical Marijuana And "Drug Education" Debates

Any approach that would increase the availability of drugs would exponentially increase the damage these substances cause.

See
Final Report Of Dutch National Drug Use Survey Will Require New Lies From The Drug Czar:
Their Lifetime Cannabis Use Half of DEAland’s; Two-Thirds That of UK

Anyone who doubts that a more permissive approach to drugs would only increase suffering need only look at New Mexico's example. Under Mr. Johnson's leadership, New Mexico's rate of heroin deaths is more than twice the national average.

(Marijuananews note: This statement is both pathetic and despicable. Johnson has only recently made his anti-prohibitionist statements, so blaming him – and/or his views -- for New Mexico’s substance abuse problems is absurd. Could it be that the obvious failure of prohibition in his state led the Governor to his conclusions, rather than the other way around?)

We would be foolish to consider a course of action that would significantly increase the rates of domestic drug use. We all need to be clear on the toll that drug use already exacts on our society. Each year illegal drugs use costs our nation $110 billion in increased social costs, contributes to 52,000 drug-related deaths and drives countless violent criminal acts.

(Marijuananews note: Both of these numbers are completely bogus. Of course, there are no marijuana deaths, with the possible exception of those in accidents, which is difficult to determine.)

The dangers of drug use fall disproportionately on young lives and dreams. A child who regularly uses marijuana (weekly) is roughly 4 times more likely to physically assault another person, 6 times more likely to cut classes, and 3 times more likely to destroy other people's property than a peer who never uses the drug.
(Marijuananews note: There is difference between correlation and causality, but then there is also a difference between lying and telling the truth. Both of these distinctions escape the Czar.)
See
Family Research Council Issues A (Misleading) Correction, But No Apology.

Drug use also is a significant contributing factor in incidences of child abuse – Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reports that substance abuse (including drugs and alcohol) exacerbates 7 of every 10 child abuse or neglect cases.

Whether you call it legalization, decriminalization or drug policy reform, the bottom line is that the agenda espoused by people like Mr. Johnson would put more drugs into the hands of our children and make drugs more available on our nation's streets. Americans don't want our children using fake IDs to buy drugs like cocaine and heroin at the corner store or via the Internet or even through a government-run system. We don't want the driver the 18-wheeler next to our family minivan high on marijuana.
See
1994 Dutch Study On "Marijuana Use And Driving" In Real World Conditions
and
Canadian Study Confirms That Marijuana Impairs Driving Far Less Than Alcohol
We want our children to grow up with bright futures, not drug addictions.