LOU DOBBS DUPED BY DRUG CZAR PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert #271, 10 Aug 2003 On Sunday, August 10th, the New York Daily News printed a column written by CNN economist Lou Dobbs. Dobbs' column came on the heels of a five-part presentation - The Forgotten War-from his nightly CNN television show, Lou Dobbs Tonight. The television series covered a wide range of drug war related topics and included footage and quotes from both policy makers and reform activists. However the concluding interview was with U.S. Drug Czar John Walters who answered all questions from Dobbs with misleading and frankly inaccurate information and statistics. Dobbs did nothing to provide a rebuttal to the drug war rhetoric. Then in the Daily News column, Dobbs gave strong support to the current drug war tactics and presented reformers as being 'dopey' and unconcerned with the social costs of drug 'abuse'. Dobbs accepts the Drug Czar's definition that any drug use is abuse - for which arrest is an appropriate way of reducing harm. He bought into many of the Czar's drug war distortions, for which honest evidence is presented at http://www.drugwardistortions.org/ Please consider writing a letter to the Daily News and also to CNN with appropriate comments on how you believe Dobbs could more accurately present information about the failed drug war. Thanks for your effort and support. It's not what others do it's what YOU do PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, email messages, etc.) Please post a copy of your letter or report your action to the sent letter list () if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to if you are not subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit. This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging our impact and effectiveness. Subscribing to the Sent LTE list () will help you to review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing efforts. To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form CONTACT and TARGET information Source: New York Daily News Contact: The New York Daily News prints short and to the point letters. The average published letter is about 82 words in length, with few larger than 150 words. We suggest that you email your message to CNN to all three of these addresses: ORIGINAL COLUMN Pubdate: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 Source: New York Daily News (NY) Contact: Website: http://www.nydailynews.com/ Author: Lou Dobbs Why Legalizing Drugs Is A Dopey Idea We've spent hundreds of billions of dollars in law enforcement, prevention and treatment since former President Richard Nixon declared war on drugs in 1971. Yet the use of illicit substances continues to plague our country. The federal government spends nearly $1 billion a month on this war, but users spend more than five times that much to buy drugs. Beyond the horrific human toll of 20,000 drug-induced deaths each year, illegal drugs cost our economy more than $280 billion annually, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Incredibly, there are those who choose to ignore drugs' human devastation and economic cost. Many of them are pseudo-sophisticate baby boomers who consider themselves superior and hip in their wry, reckless disregard of the facts. They also may smoke marijuana, advocate its legalization and rationalize cocaine as what they call a recreational drug. And there is a surprising list of libertarians and conservatives, including William Buckley and Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman, who also advocate the legalization of drugs. Another Nobel laureate, Gary Becker, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, told me, "It would certainly save a lot of resources for society. We could tax drug use so it could even lead to government revenue." He also said, "We would be able to greatly cut the number of people in prison, which would save resources for state and local government." But the cost of drug abuse goes well beyond the expense of controlling supply and demand. Drug users cost the country $160 billion each year in lost productivity. Parental substance abuse is responsible for $10 billion of the $14 billion spent nationally each year on child welfare. And drugs are involved in seven out of 10 cases of abuse and neglect. Pete Wilson, former governor of California, is a strong opponent of drug legalization. Wilson said the problem that advocates of legalization fail to acknowledge is that drugs are addictive and, therefore, not just another commodity. "Drugs did not become viewed as bad because they are illegal," Wilson said. "Rather, they became illegal because they are clearly bad." Although the war on drugs certainly has not captured the American public's attention, there has been success in efforts to curb drug use and supply. According to the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Study, the percentage of high school seniors who reported using any drug in the past month decreased to 26% in 2001 from 39% in 1978. Crop Report There are 9 million fewer drug users in America than there were in 1979. And coca cultivation was 15% lower in Colombia in 2002, thanks to the combined efforts of the U.S. and Colombian governments. John Walters, national drug control policy director, is optimistic about the war on drugs. Walters told me, "We have to remember that, since we got serious in the '80s, overall drug use is half of what it was. And that's progress." I would say that is quite a lot of progress, but the job is only half done. The CNN Series - The Forgotten War - may be read in full at this URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1204/a06.html SAMPLE LETTERS To the editors of the New York Daily News: Lou Dobbs accepts the wisdom of U.S. Drug Czar John Walters as being accurate and authoritative and therefore is duped into promoting continued expansion and perpetuation of the failed War on Drugs. If drugs are illegal because they are dangerous - per California's Pete Wilson - then Dobbs offers no explanation for why we should not criminalize tobacco and alcohol use. If all drug use is abuse, then the only way to win the war is to arrest and jail at least 20 million more Americans who enjoy responsibly using marijuana. If anyone thinks that citizens truthfully answer 'Yes' to telephone surveys which ask, "Do you use illegal drugs?", then Walters' assertion that 'drug use has been cut in half' holds water. Otherwise, this assertion is absurd and Dobbs should be smart enough to see it. The many reputable voices Dobbs cites, along with millions of other citizens who promote reform of current drug policies, are not blind to the very real risks and damage to people associated with legal drug use. We simply believe that the policy of criminal drug prohibition laws result in far greater costs and destruction - does more harm by far than the drugs themselves. Sincerely, Billy Bennett TO the producers of Lou Dobbs Tonight: Does Lou Dobbs have financial interests in policies which support drug prohibition laws? His five part series - The Forgotten War - gave a broad exposure to the many aspects of the current War Against Drugs and also included alternative ideas and comments from those who believe serious reform of these policies is needed, but Dobbs seemed to be persuaded only by those who promote continuation of the failed Drug War. Your online poll, while admittedly not scientific, showed over 90% of respondents believe marijuana should be decriminalized, but Dobbs gave that literally no attention. Mr. Dobbs repeatedly mentioned the expenditures of billions of dollars and complained that legalizers ignore the economic cost. And yet, all of those expenditures are a result of, or increased by, the war on drugs, which he would have us continue and even escalate. As an economist, Lou Dobbs should know better. Sincerely, Pete Guither Please note: These are SAMPLE letters only. Your own letters should be substantially different so that they will be considered as adding to the discussion. ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See: Writer's Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/ TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: Please utilize the following URLs http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter writing activists. Prepared by: Stephen Heath, DPF Florida http://www.dpffl.org = Please help us help reform. Send drug-related news to

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