Pubdate: Mon, 09 Jun 2003
Source: Roll Call (DC)
Copyright: 2003 Roll Call Inc.
Contact:  http://www.rollcall.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/372
Author: Damon Chappie, Roll Call Staff
Cited: Office of National Drug Control Policy ( www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov )
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project ( www.mpp.org )
Cited: Drug Policy Alliance ( www.drugpolicy.org )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/props.htm (Ballot Initiatives)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?163 (Question 9 (NV))
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/campaign.htm (ONDCP Media Campaign)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

COMMITTEE DROPS DRUG CZAR AD BUDGET PROVISION

In a sharp reversal, the House Government Reform Committee agreed Thursday 
to maintain legal provisions that prohibit a $1 billion federal anti-drug 
advertising budget from being used for partisan, political purposes.

In a bipartisan voice vote, the panel agreed to delete a provision that 
critics said would have allowed the federal drug czar to engage in 
partisan, political activity when opposing efforts to legalize or reform 
drug laws, including state efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

While the drug czar, John Walters, formally known as the director of the 
Office of National Drug Control Policy, would still be legally required to 
oppose efforts to legalize drugs, he would not be able to oppose ballot 
initiatives seeking to decriminalize medical marijuana with the resources 
of the annual $195 million advertising campaign intended to educate 
children about the dangers of drug use.

Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), who had authored the provision that would have 
allowed partisan use of the ad money, accused supporters of marijuana 
legalization efforts of distorting his attempt to clarify that the media 
campaign is not political.

"A small group who devotes their lives to marijuana want to claim that 
preventing kids from using marijuana is somehow partisan and political 
because apparently they consider that drug to be their ideology," Souder 
said. "We tried in subcommittee to clarify that this extreme argument would 
not threaten the prevention activities of the media campaign -- a minor 
provision that was blown wildly out of proportion by the same extremists 
and some in the media to suggest that the committee intention was to permit 
the use of the media campaign for activities that everyone in this room 
would agree are wholly improper and partisan. That was never my intention 
or the intention of this bill," Souder said.

In addition to dropping the controversial provision, the committee agreed 
to add language that prohibits the use of media campaign funds to influence 
the success or failure of any candidate, ballot initiative, or legislative 
or regulatory proposal dealing with drug law reforms. The bill would also 
prohibit federal and elected officials from appearing in any anti-drug ads 
funded by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

"This is a major victory for the majority of Americans that favor a more 
compassionate and less expensive national drug policy," said Bill Piper, 
associate director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. 
"Members of this committee should be thanked for working to ensure that 
federal bureaucrats don't use taxpayer money to tell taxpayers how to vote."

Walters has traveled the country under the authority of his office to 
campaign against state measures seeking to reform laws that criminalize 
marijuana. Maryland last month became the latest state to have a medical 
marijuana law, joining Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, 
Colorado, Nevada and Maine.

Last fall in Nevada, Walters campaigned against a ballot initiative that 
would have largely decriminalized marijuana possession for adults. After 
the initiative was defeated, the Marijuana Policy Project filed a complaint 
with state election officials against Walters for failing to comply with 
Nevada's campaign finance disclosure laws, which require "the reporting of 
contributions and expenses for every person or group of persons organized 
formally or informally who advocates the passage or defeat of a question or 
group of questions on the ballot at any election."

In an April 21 opinion that found that Walters was likely immune from 
complying with state campaign laws as a federal official, the state's 
attorney general, Brian Sandoval, nonetheless concluded, "It is unfortunate 
that a representative of the federal government substantially intervened in 
a matter that was clearly a state of Nevada issue."

Souder and GOP committee aides said they wanted to protect Walters and his 
office from allegations that they were engaged in partisan, political 
activity. But the legislation they drafted sparked an outcry of criticism 
that it would in fact authorize taxpayer money to be used in ads against 
candidates and ballot initiatives that support marijuana law reform.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said Souders original language "opened the 
door legally to partisan, political use. Any allowance for the use of the 
media campaign for political purposes would be unacceptable."

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) offered an amendment to require that the drug 
czar's office submit to Congress advance copies of any ads it plans. She 
withdrew the amendment after committee leaders said they would try to 
incorporate some ad review policy internally.

Steve Fox, legislative director of the Marijuana Policy Project, applauded 
the committee's restrictions on the anti-drug advertising budget but said 
that similar restrictions should have been adopted for the drug czar.

"Unfortunately, the committee did not extend the common sense restriction 
on using taxpayer funds for political purposes to the activities of the 
drug czar," Fox said. "This leaves him free to continue traveling around 
the country, lying to voters and state legislators about medical marijuana 
and other issues. We will urge the full House to prohibit the drug czar 
from using taxpayer dollars to interfere in state legislative matters."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager