Missing were the shouting protestors with placards, the miniature Ten Commandments tablets, and the throng of media representatives. It was almost business as usual the day the Supreme Court heard the term's sole religious liberty case. Unlike the Ten Commandments display cases that received so much media attention last term and flamed the cultural debates on religion, the case of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal v. Gonzalez made its way to the Supreme Court rather quietly. At oral argument in November last year, the case drew the attention mostly of the members of the small religious sect whose central sacrament is threatened by the enforcement of federal drug laws against them. While much of the media took a pass on this one, all who are interested in the protection of religious liberty should take note, because the importance of this case may far exceed the particular religious practice at issue. [continues 1120 words]
For more than two decades I was a soldier in the War on Drugs. In the course of my career, I have helped put drug users and dealers in jail; I have presided over the break-up of families; I have followed the laws of my state and country, and have seen their results. At one point, I held the record for the largest drug prosecution in the Los Angeles area: 75 kilos of heroin, which was and is a lot of narcotics. [continues 1853 words]
Children of the future age, Reading this indignant page, Know that in a former time, Drugs, "hard" drugs, were thought a crime. But I guess you knew that. You may not know that in this former age there lived a second-rate actor named Robert Downey Jr. (son of Robert Downey Sr., a third-rate film director), who continually used illegal drugs and continually got caught doing it. Junior once got so stoned that he walked into a neighbor's house, went into a bedroom, lay down on the bed, and passed out. He was arrested for that. He was arrested a lot of times, not for doing anything particularly harmful, but for using illegal substances. He once went to prison for a few months. At other times, he submitted to the "diversionary treatment" that well-off white boys often used to evade the slammer. [continues 1097 words]
Welcome To Colombia, Where The American-Directed Drug Policy Is To Shoot First And Ask Questions Never. Last year, the United States agreed to spend $1.3 billion on Plan Colombia, its latest effort in the War on Drugs. As part of the plan, America will give the Colombian military 16 Blackhawk, 30 Huey II, and 15 UH-1N helicopters. It will also send some 500 ground troops and 300 contract civilian workers to act as "advisors," as well as 85 Green Berets to train Colombia's soldiers in anti-drug operations -- mostly destroying coca fields and fighting narco-traffickers. [continues 1559 words]
Twelve years ago, Nobel laureate Milton Friedman wrote an "Open Letter to Bill Bennett" warning about the policies that Bennett and former President George H.W. Bush were advocating to fight drugs: "The path you propose of more police, more jails, use of the military in foreign countries, harsh penalties for drug users, and a whole panoply of repressive measures can only make a bad situation worse. The drug war cannot be won by those tactics without undermining the human liberty and individual freedom that you and I cherish." [continues 830 words]
In Tenth Amendment: up in smoke" (December 2000), Richard E. Pearl, Sr. writes: "Federal law states there is no medical use for marijuana and any use of it is illegal under federal statute." Yes, I know, and the earth is the center of the universe and does not rotate around the sun. Richard Marchese, Fairfield, NJ [end]
What the drug warriors don't want anyone to know is that they secretly don't list victory as an objective in their war. Just remember that the drug czars' jobs depend on the perpetual prosecution of, but never a victory in, the drug war. Also, remember that the politicians depend on the drug war and its rhetoric to scare up votes (by scaring voters). The politicians also rely on the drug war to sustain their constituent industries that depend on the economics of prohibition in order to make generous profits and campaign contributions that keep the drug warrior politicians in power and, therefore, keep themselves in business. Remember what H.L. Mencken said: "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." Myron Von Hollingsworth, Fort Worth, Texas [end]
On Oct. 16, White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey announced that he will resign before the next president takes office. McCaffrey's drug war has been cruel, costly, and counterproductive. More than three million marijuana users have been arrested during his five-year regime, and his fight against medical marijuana has caused untold pain and suffering among the seriously ill. Indeed, a new FBI report released on Oct. 15 revealed a record number of marijuana arrests in 1999. According to the annual Crime in the United States report, there were 704,812 marijuana arrests in 1999 -- 88% of which were for possession, not sale or manufacture. [continues 192 words]
The United States Supreme Court recently issued a stay which prevents the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative from providing medical marijuana to those who qualify according to California Law 11362.5, sometimes called the Compassionate Use Act and better known as Proposition 215. Federal law states that there is no medical use for marijuana and any use of it is illegal under federal statute. About that there is no disagreement. What is in dispute is related to whether or not 535 members of Congress have the right to make medical decisions for every single man, woman, and child in America and overrule the medical judgement of physicians. Part of the dispute is over the disagreement about the medical efficacy of this innocuous weed. Also, part of the disagreement is over whether or not individuals have the right to use whatever substance they wish if they feel the use of that substance benefits their lives. But neither of these issues was at issue before the Court: the issue it faced was whether the federal government has the right to overturn a state law enacted by initiative. Can Congress tell the people they do not have a voice in making the laws for their state, or tell a state legislature that they, too, do not have the right to make laws for their state if those 535 people in Congress do not like the laws they pass? [continues 699 words]
Let's just call him "misguided" and deal with the issues. McCaffrey cannot accept that heroin addicts in England lead peaceful, productive lives when enrolled in medically monitored programs. He would be fired if he suggested that medical doctors administer heroin to addicts in this country. As long as the Drug Enforcement Administration classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, he can not publicly acknowledge that persons responsibly use marijuana recreationally. One of his medical consultants probably told him about the rat allowed to self-administer pleasure. [continues 86 words]
Another Casualty Of The War On Drugs On June 14, Natalie Fisher went to Peter McWilliams' home, where she worked as housekeeper to the wheelchair-bound victim of AIDS and cancer. In the bathroom on the second floor, she found his life-less body. He had choked to death on his own vomit. As regular readers of Liberty know, Peter, a world famous author* and a regular contributor to these pages, was diagnosed with AIDS and non-Hodgkins lymphoma in early 1996. Like many people stricken with AIDS or cancer, he had great difficulty keeping down the drugs that controlled or mitigated those afflictions. He began to smoke marijuana to control the drug-induced nausea. It saved his life: by early 1998, both his cancer and his AIDS were under control. [continues 1362 words]
On July 4, 1998, Peter McWilliams addressed the Libertarian Party National Convention: Thank you, thank you very much. Good afternoon. Where are the Teleprompters? How am I expected to do a political speech without a teleprompter? You mean, I'm just supposed to stand here and say what I think and believe? What kind of political party is this? I want to tell you about a pair of epiphanies that I had in 1996. The first happened in March of 1996 when I was diagnosed with both AIDS and cancer. I tell you this early on because I want your sympathy throughout the rest of this speech. When you mention AIDS or cancer, people are so afraid of their own death that they treat you very nicely. [continues 4277 words]
Paul Rako's article ("McCaffrey's Brain on Drugs," June) was not kind. If McCaffrey understood the havoc his positions cause, he could not continue as the drug czar in good conscience. I'm sure that, in his own way, Hitler was also a nice man who wanted to do good. But suggesting that Mr. McCaffrey is an evil self-serving jerk and psychopathic pig does nothing to move the discussion forward. Let's just call him "misguided" and deal with the issues. [continues 167 words]
In Paul Rako's excellent analysis of Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey's illogical support of failed drug policies, he asks why some drugs are demonized while others are A-OK. The answer is really quite simple. The goal of a "drug-free" America only applies to certain drugs. Specifically, natural drugs which cannot be patented by the pharmaceutical industry, one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington, D.C. New lifestyle drugs are routinely granted fast-track FDA approval, while marijuana, which has been used medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years, allegedly requires further research studies. [continues 250 words]
Maybe the politicians are required to adhere to the party line of prohibition because law enforcement, customs, the prison industrial complex, the drug testing industry, the INS, the CIA, the FBI, the DEA, the politicians themselves et al can't live without the budget justification, not to mention the invisible profits, bribery, corruption and forfeiture benefits that prohibition affords them. Myron Von Hollingsworth, Fort Worth, Tex. Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n597/a06.html [end]
Christopher A. Joseph, Parma, Ohio Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n597/a06.html [end]
In Paul Rako's excellent analysis of Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey's illogical support of failed drug policies, he asks why some drugs are demonized while others are A-OK. The answer is really quite simple. The goal of a "drug-free" America only applies to certain drugs. Specifically, natural drugs which cannot be patented by the pharmaceutical industry, one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington, D.C. New lifestyle drugs are routinely granted fast-track FDA approval, while marijuana, which has been used medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years, allegedly requires further research studies. [continues 468 words]
Margaret Loder-Healy was the principal of Memorial Elementary School in Newton, New Hampshire. She was noted for her part in making that small town's school into New Hampshire's best. She resigned her position in November of 1999. It seems she had a small problem. She had been a heroin addict for years -- years during which she substantially improved the school she was in charge of. To my way of thinking, her problem wasn't so much the heroin. Obviously, the use of that drug did not interfere with her ability to do her job and do it well. No, the problem was the present scheme of drug prohibition laws. They, not the heroin, caused her downfall. [continues 164 words]
"We're at war, and we're experiencing the consequences of that war in terms of violent encounters, and I only see that increasing," one DEA agent was quoted in a deeply disturbing Los Angeles Times article "War on Drugs Taking Toll on Border Agents." The men and women of law enforcement offer their lives to protect our own. They are modern-day heroes who deserve our deepest respect, admiration, and, above all, care. Need we continue risking the lives of these courageous, self-sacrificing, precious human beings fighting a War on Drugs that, most experts agree, cannot be won? [end]
Alan Bock Note: Mr. Bock is a contributing editor for Liberty and the Orange County Register's senior editorial writer. [end]
