Pubdate: Wed, 01 Jun 2005 Source: Virginia Gazette, The (Williamsburg, VA) Copyright: 2005 The Virginia Gazette Contact: http://www.vagazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3760 Author: DeForest Rathbone Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Sativex (Sativex) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Barthwell (Andrea Barthwell) Cited: Office of National Drug Control Policy ( www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov ) Cited: American Civil Liberties Union ( www.aclu.org ) DRUG CZAR DEFENDED An error-filled letter to the editor by Charles M. Darlington of May 28, "Drug czar challenged," unfairly criticized Dr. Andrea Barthwell with questionable charges of "self-serving hypocrisy," "contempt for the democratic process," "double dipping" and "self-seeking opportunist." None of this from my knowledge of her as a fellow drug prevention activist is true. Barthwell is opposed to the druggie proposal to legalize smoked marijuana as medicine because of her medical background, which makes her intimately aware of the health hazards of smoking anything. Her support for Sativex medicine is entirely dependent upon it passing FDA clearance and approval, just as morphine is accepted as a legally approved derivative of illegal opium. We preventionists all agree on that. We also agree with Barthwell that smoked pot will never be anything other than another snake-oil medicine to cheat desperate sick people. That is also our rationale for defeating the Illinois bill to virtually legalize smoked pot as medicine, which was proposed by drug legalizers. It is not hypocrisy to support the official evaluation of Sativex by FDA while opposing unapproved smoked pot snake-oil medicine. It is also a phony claim that Barthwell ducks public debate on so-called "drug law reform." She and I and many other drug prevention activists are more than willing to debate drug legalizers and their legal profession supporters at any time, as I did in my recent debate with the pro-drug ACLU lawyer Kent Willis during the Williamsburg forum on May 25, held to discuss the case for adopting random student drug testing in WJC Schools. Darlington's reference to Clinton administration former drug czar Barry McCaffrey promoting drug testing while he was in office was false. That did not happen, even though we drug prevention activists frequently pleaded with him to endorse random student drug testing to protect our kids. It was only after Gen. McCaffrey was replaced with Bush administration drug czar John Walters and Barthwell as his deputy that the Office of National Drug Control Policy began to promote random testing in response to drug-besieged citizens' requests. A key to understanding where Darlington was coming from was in his statement citing the "futility of attempting to control illicit drugs," which is a pure druggie mantra that we drug prevention activists reject. We're going to win. For the sake of America's drug-endangered children, families and communities, we must. And dedicated, honest health professionals like Barthwell are going to help us make that happen. DeForest Rathbone, Chairman National Institute of Citizen Anti-drug Policy Great Falls