PROHIBIT MARIJUANA AND stop holy connection It was God-awesome to read the truth in Steve Dasbach's "To fight terrorism, quit fighting drugs" (Mar. 8, 2002). Out-of-control prohibitionists must be stopped from inflicting any further damage to earth. Truth is the prohibitionist's worst nightmare, and I welcome the media to continue projecting the truth of Christ God on this issue. Christ God gave us cannabis and put cannabinoid (THC) receptor sites in our brains since the beginning. Those who prohibit that connection may well be the true terrorists - to Christ God and the Holy Spirit of Truth. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Balancing the Free Exercise of Religion and the Needs Of Society Rohi Israel may think he's found a constitutional loophole allowing him to smoke marijuana with impunity, but he's just blowing smoke. He says his religion - he's a Rastafarian - allows him to indulge despite laws to the contrary. U.S. District Judge William C. Lee has ruled that Israel should serve 11 months for smoking marijuana in violation of his prison-release agreement, but agreed to delay the sentencing pending an appeal by Israel. Lee's decision holds out false hope for Israel. [continues 306 words]
Thank you for publishing Steve Dasbach's outstanding guest column on March 8, "To fight terrorism, quit fighting drugs." When pure pharmaceutical-grade Bayer heroin was legally available at local pharmacies, criminals and terrorists were not involved in recreational drugs. That's because Bayer heroin and Bayer aspirin were about the same price - pennies per dose. If we legalized recreational drugs, they could be taxed, regulated and controlled by our government. Now drugs are untaxed, unregulated and controlled by criminal gangs. Almost all of our so-called "drug-related" crime would end. That's because almost all of our "drug-related" crime is caused by drug prohibition, not the drugs. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Recently, several members of Students for Sensible Drug Policy grilled U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, R-4th, on his bill that denies financial aid to a student convicted of a drug offense. On several occasions, Souder accused the organization of advocating drug use. The accusations were misguided, unfounded and completely inaccurate. At no time has anyone speaking for the organization advocated drug use. SSDP does not advocate any form of drug use. Rather, its mission is to promote an open, honest and rational discussion of alternative solutions to our nation's drug problems. By labeling the entire organization as advocating drug use, he has found a convenient way to dismiss SSDP's arguments but has missed the entire point of the democratic process. [continues 72 words]
Here's a bold way to strike back at terrorists that the government hasn't tried yet: End the War on Drugs. Ending the War on Drugs would take the profit out of drug-trafficking and inflict a crippling financial blow to terrorist networks. The War on Drugs turns ordinary, cheap plants like marijuana and poppies into lucrative black-market products, funneling vast profits into drug cartels and their terrorist allies. Why? Because the more risk there is in selling any product - the risk of arrest, from rival gangs or of seizures by police - the more the price is inflated to compensate for that risk. Even the U.S. government acknowledges this. [continues 572 words]
You have the right to peaceably assemble - it says so right in the Bill of Rights. You can even carry signs that protest something or other and, if you feel like it, march around and say mean things for a few hours. But do you have the right to do it in any public space at any time under any condition? The Supreme Court will decide such issues in a case that could define exactly how free Americans' free-speech rights are. The case comes from Chicago, where for years Robert MacDonald conducted Hempfest in Grant Park, an annual event calling for the legalization of marijuana. [continues 124 words]
What do we do when something intended for good is misused? It might be an exaggeration to call OxyContin a miracle drug. But it is certainly seen as a godsend to cancer patients and others with chronic, debilitating pain. Because the medication is powerful and time-released, those taking it can have 12 hours of smooth, pain-free existence instead of the sharp high of relief followed rather quickly by the return of pain. And just by taking two pills 12 hours apart, they can have a pain-free day and a better night's sleep. [continues 498 words]
As last remaining superpower, we have to determine our role in the world. The foes of globalization who have long preached that message probably meant that it should happen all at once, a dramatic pullout that would send a message to other nations. They probably never envisioned what now seems to be happening, the U.S. disappearance from the world body one prestigious committee at a time. In the secret ballots cast Thursday by the 54-member U.N. Economic and Social Council, the U.S. was ousted from the Human Rights Commission and the International Narcotics Control Board. The loss of the human-rights seat was especially galling. America, still a haven of liberty and justice for oppressed people everywhere, lost its seat, while seats were given to Sudan, where the government has been involved in slavery and forced labor; and Sierra Leone, whose security forces and rebels are in competition to see who can torture and massacre the most people. And such exemplars of human rights as China, Cuba, Libya and Syria retained their seats. [continues 412 words]
As Long As We Just Fight Drug Supply And Ignore Demand, We Will Fail. It's Called "Collateral Damage," Or, Sometimes, "Friendly Fire." In A War, Innocent People Get Killed Simply Because They Are In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time. It's No One's "Fault" In The Conventional Sense Of That Word. There Are People Who Are Responsible -- But No One To Blame. That's Pretty Much How The U.S. Describes The Fate Of Veronica Bowers, 35, An American Missionary, And Her 7-Month-Old Daughter, Charity, Killed Last Week When Their Small Plane Was Mistaken For A Drug Carrier And Shot Down By The Peruvian Air Force. [continues 431 words]
It's interesting how people will often abandon an apparently strongly held philosophical position when it collides with a real-world issue they care deeply about. Over here, we have the left, passionately committed to the federal government's wisdom and largesse, especially when it comes to support of "the arts." But then comes Congress, saying libraries and schools that won't put approved Internet "filters" on their computers won't qualify for federal help in getting connected to the Internet. Outrageous! howls the left. This is an issue on which local people have the "expertise" to know how best to control what children have access to -- there is no federal "role." [continues 272 words]
'Welfare of children' can't justify ignoring of fundamental rights. Once you become a parent, does law enforcement's legitimate concern for the welfare of your children mean you have to be denied your rights? Should police, for example, have the authority to enter -- without warrants or reasonable suspicions -- every home that contains a 2 year-old, then arrest the adults there if they find something that might endanger the child? That sounds a little chilling, doesn't it? That's the essence of a 6-3 decision by the Supreme Court ruling that hospitals cannot test pregnant women suspected of drug use and turn positive results over to police unless the patient consents. Because it touches on the abortion issue -- what is a fetus, and when does life begin? - -- it sounds more complicated than it is and is probably more controversial than it should be. [continues 262 words]
We must make sure we more zealously guard our rights as technological advances make it more difficult to protect them. That's the issue in Kyllo vs. U.S., a case before the Supreme Court, in which the defense is attempting to hold the line against improper search and seizure in the face of the government's increasing ability to cross the line. Narcotics police in Florence, Ore. -- with no probable cause stated to justify it -- used a "thermal imager" to detect excessive heat coming from Danny Lee Kyllo's home. Based on that "evidence" alone, they obtained a search warrant and found more than 100 marijuana plants he had been growing under special lights. [continues 284 words]
Those who still think of America's judges as oracles of wisdom should consider the Supreme Court's decision this week to outlaw police roadblocks intended to search for drugs. Such searches, the court said in a 6-3 decision, are an unreasonable invasion of constitutionally protected privacy. They're right. But wait: The court noted that this decision does not affect other police roadblocks, such as drunken-driving checkpoints, which have already been found constitutional because the benefit to the public outweighs personal inconvenience. Got that? You can invade somebody's privacy to check for booze, which is legal, but not for cocaine, which is not. If you're not confused yet, consider: Indiana's Court of Appeals has just ruled that drunken-driving roadblocks are unconstitutional. Maybe the lawyers for George W. Bush and Al Gore can straighten this out once they're done with the election stuff. [end]
There are four principles we frequently use elsewhere in our republic. One of the people who responded to a recent interactive editorial about America's war on drugs threw out an interesting challenge. "What sort of drug policy," asked Vera Bradova, "would a constitutional rationalist with libertarian tendencies (the editorial page editor's self-described philosophy) support?" Well, let's try. Most of us might agree on a few common-sense principles that are applied fairly regularly in our republic: 1. What people do to themselves is not properly the concern of "society." 2. People are responsible for their behavior, and it IS society's business when those actions harm others. 3. We have a special obligation to protect our children. 4. Public policy (including taxation) can and sometimes should seek to influence individual behavior. [continues 350 words]
One of the people who responded to a recent interactive editorial about the war on drugs threw out an interesting challenge. "What sort of drug policy," asked Vera Bradova, "would a constitutional rationalist with libertarian tendencies (the editorial page editor's self-described philosophy) support?" Well, let's try. Most might agree on a few common-sense principles applied fairly regularly in our republic: 1. What people do to themselves is not properly the concern of "society." 2. People are responsible for their behavior, and it is society's business when those actions harm others. 3. We have a special obligation to protect our children. 4. Public policy (including taxation) sometimes should seek to influence individual behavior. [continues 91 words]
In last week's Interactive Forum, we gave conservatives a hard time for supporting the continued wasting of billions of dollars on a war on drugs that is no closer to being won than it ever was. This week, it is time for the liberals to shoulder their share of the responsibility for our failed drug policies. Even conservatives who think the war on drugs is misguided shudder at the thought of cutting it back -- even something as defensible as legalizing marijuana -- because they fear what a mess liberals would then make of things. [continues 111 words]
How Much More Will Be Spent On A Policy That Is Clearly Not Working? President Clinton has just told Colombia the United States will commit $1.3 billion to help that nation "combat cocaine trafficking," adding that amount to the billions already thrown down the rathole otherwise known as the "war against drugs." The truth is that what we have here is either another Prohibition or -- if you prefer a more recent analogy -- the law-enforcement equivalent of Vietnam. But nobody seems to want to deal with the truth. [continues 456 words]
President Clinton has just told Colombia the United States will commit $1.3 billion to help that nation "combat cocaine trafficking," adding that amount to the billions already thrown down the rathole otherwise known as the "war against drugs." The truth is that what we have here is either another Prohibition or -- if you prefer a more recent analogy -- the law-enforcement equivalent of Vietnam. But nobody seems to want to deal with the truth. Those of us on the conservative side always lambaste liberals for continuing to waste money on failed programs like welfare, for foolishly believing that if billions of dollars didn't get the job done, a few billion more will. Even if it's a goal we support -- to reduce the damage done by drugs -- shouldn't we be asking for the same kind of "show us the results" evidence we demand of other government initiatives? [continues 81 words]
Appeals Court Says The State Constitution Has Final Say On Drug Policy. For those who care only about real-world effects, there will be much to argue about in the Indiana Court of Appeals ruling this week that schools cannot require students to submit to random drug tests as a condition for driving to school, playing sports or joining a club. Instead, they must rely on probable cause. For those trying to do everything they can to stop illegal drug use -- such as school boards and administrators -- the ruling will be a setback. "(The policy) was not intended to be punitive. We certainly thought it was an effective deterrent, and it gave students a reason to say no," said Superintendent Robert Herrold of Hamilton County's Southeastern Schools. And certainly the possibility of being randomly tested will keep some students from using drugs. [continues 230 words]
When the Allen County Criminal Justice Task Force released a draft of its final report last month, its recommended improvements were sensible, if not exactly revolutionary. No. 1 on its list was: "Pursue all appropriate alternative sentencing programs to preclude jail confinement for misdemeanors and non-violent offenders." In plain English, that means: Don't put people in the county's overcrowded jail unless it's necessary for the sake of justice or public safety. That recommendation should be kept in mind as Allen County Council members, judges and other officials ponder the future of the county's three-year-old drug court program, whose future is in jeopardy because of budget limitations. The program's intent, after all, is to rehabilitate, not incarcerate, some drug offenders. [continues 80 words]
