Your editorial "The Vaping-Marijuana Nexus" (Dec. 26) is a wake-up call for parents and politicians. Marijuana isn't harmless. Nor is it legal under federal law, and for good reason. It contains more than 460 different chemicals and, as the editorial board points out, it's four to five times more powerful than the marijuana of the 1970s, '80s or '90s. Extensive scientific research has documented serious harm to brain development for teenage regular users, major consequences for pregnant and nursing mothers and significant impairment for drivers and others performing sensitive tasks. Colorado, the first state to legalize marijuana, leads the nation in use by 12-to-17-year-olds. Meanwhile, the gangs and drug dealers are cheering because their sales have skyrocketed, selling to minors and others at lower prices than dispensaries can offer. [continues 60 words]
On Tuesday, a Sun-Times editorial, "If caught, El Chapo should be tried in the US," brought home the deadly impact in Chicago of Chapo Guzman's trafficking in drugs. The editorial appropriately cited the death of 7-year-old Amari Brown earlier this month to make this very point. Guzman is the worst of the worst in spreading addiction and death. His crimes are so widespread that he has been indicted in seven different U.S. jurisdictions-from Chicago, which has been the hub of his activity, to Miami, New York City, Texas and Southern California. The indictments include murder, assault and kidnapping, in addition to illegal drug trafficking. [continues 54 words]
To the Editor: Much of the country - with The New York Times regrettably in the vanguard - is advocating the reckless addition of a third drug, marijuana, to two drugs currently legal for adults: alcohol and tobacco. These two legal drugs are the leading causes of preventable illness. The legal status of a drug has dramatic impact on its use. In the last 30 days, 52 percent of Americans 12 and older used alcohol, 27 percent used tobacco and only 7 percent used marijuana. The dramatically lower level of marijuana use reflects its illegal status, not its appeal. Why is it in our nation's interest to see marijuana use climb? Since when is smoking a program that we promote? [continues 164 words]
The May 30 In the Loop column, "An off-the-radar White House lunch - until a tweet spilled the beans," quoted Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) as saying on the House floor that Michele Leonhart, the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, is a "terrible" agency head. It also highlighted how Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) rose to Ms. Leonhart's defense and commended her for 30 years of service to the agency. As the administrator of the DEA from 1976 to 1981, under Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan, I am very familiar with the position and Ms. Leonhart; I swore her in as a special agent. [continues 147 words]
Monday's Sun-Times editorial on marijuana has unfortunately presented mostly fiction and not facts. The bill pending in the Illinois Senate is not the most restricted medical marijuana legislation; it is the only law proposed that allows a medical marijuana cardholder to drive immediately after smoking marijuana while removing the tests that would be able to detect marijuana use - blood and alcohol tests, which is current law. The Illinois Chiefs of Police and Illinois Sheriff 's Association have been so alarmed by these provisions that they have written the governor, secretary of state and other public safety officials because the proposed legislation imposes a standard of impairment test that may be accurate for alcohol but does not work for marijuana, according to safety specialists at the National Highway Transportation Safety Board. [continues 156 words]
The Rev. Al Sharp's Saturday oped on why patients deserve medical marijuana flies in the face of science and the official opinions of the very associations that represent the patients identified. Marijuana is not medicine. The Food and Drug Administration decides what is safe and effective medicine and has determined marijuana is neither safe nor effective. The World Health Organization, American Society of Addiction Medicine and the National Institute on Drug Abuse all oppose making marijuana available as medicine. Mr. Sharp mentioned two patients with multiple sclerosis, but the Society for Multiple Sclerosis opposes marijuana as medicine, and so does the American Cancer Society. Marijuana has 60 percent more cancercausing agents than a cigarette. [continues 192 words]
In Steve Chapman's commentary ("On weed: Dazed and confused no more" Oct. 27), he argues for legalization of marijuana and says that drug enforcement has not worked, but he disregards the facts. He mentions Jimmy Carter's comments about reducing penalties. I served as the Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration during the Ford, Carter and Reagan administrations and penalties for marijuana sales under Carter were increased, and the Asset Forfeiture Law passed, allowing seizure of assets derived from illegal drug deals. More importantly, in 1978, 25.4 million Americans used illegal drugs, 11 percent of our population (225 million); in 2009, there were 22 million, 7 percent (of 305 million). So don't tell us drug laws have not worked. [continues 224 words]
To the Editor: Re "Call Off the Global Drug War," by Jimmy Carter (Op-Ed, June 17): I take issue with former President Carter's call to end the global war on drugs. I say this regretfully, as I served as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration in his administration, having been appointed to this position by President Gerald R. Ford. During that period, drug penalties were increased, not decreased. The penalties for trafficking in marijuana were tripled, the asset forfeiture law was passed, an estimated 80,000 Mexican opium poppy fields were destroyed, and by 1981 heroin use and overdose deaths were cut in half and overall drug use went down. [continues 139 words]
Jesse Jackson's recent column "on a failed war on drugs" demands a rebuttal based on science and the facts. Rev. Jackson, to his credit, has preached against using drugs, but his conclusion that the drug control effort has been wasted is dead wrong. In fact, in 1978, 25 million Americans used an illegal drug once a month, when our population was 280 million. In 2009, there were 21 million illegal drug users, a decrease of 20 percent. Since when is a 20 percent decrease a failure? [continues 496 words]
Tribune columnist Steve Chapman's "An unconventional cure for Mexico's drug violence; Legalization of marijuana is the cartels' worst nightmare" (Commentary, March 28) proposes legalization of marijuana in California. This would make matters worse. It would not stop crime but would increase health problems and costs, highway deaths, workplace accidents, absenteeism at work and school, and lower academic achievement, and it would open up a bigger market for the drug cartels. Here's why: At what age and what quantity limit for possession? The cartels would fight over the territory, not just in Mexico but in California. They would go after the youth, ages 10 to 21; they would offer high-powered "pot" and larger amounts so dealers could resell to minors and out-of-state buyers. [continues 248 words]
To the Editor: "Fearful of Alienating Afghans, U.S. Turns Blind Eye to Opium" (front page, March 21) highlights the dilemma: should Afghan farmers grow poppies or should poppy fields be eradicated, jeopardizing livelihoods but eliminating the opium that destroys lives? The United States faced a similar dilemma in the 1970s when Turkey was the principal source of imported heroin via laboratories in Marseille - -- the "French connection." Turkey limited cultivation and built a factory to convert opium poppy heads into "poppy straw," convertible into the legal medicines morphine and codeine. The Turkish government outlawed growing of opium poppies in all but seven provinces that were traditional growing areas. [continues 171 words]
The Sun-Times commentary by Joe Conason of Oct. 23 was a mixed blessing. On the positive side, it brought attention to a subject completely neglected during the presidential debates and by the media in interviews with the candidates. On the negative side, it was misleading. The writer proposes abandoning control of illegal drugs and investing money elsewhere. The result of that action would be more addiction, more crime and much higher social and economic costs. England tried this approach in the early 1970s and made heroin legal and obtainable at pharmacies, with the objective of reducing heroin imports and illegal sales. [continues 212 words]
"Remember the War on Drugs?" (editorial, Nov. 19) was needed and timely. The editorial underscored the loss of lives due to drug trafficking and addiction and the billions of dollars of illegal money flowing across the border to Mexico. The new administration in Mexico has been serious about combating drug trafficking and the violence and corruption created by the drug cartels. Increased resources, extradition of traffickers to the United States and focus on money transfers are having an impact. The war on drugs has always been about money, guns, corruption and intimidation. It is dramatically bolstered when there is cooperation and commitment on both sides of the border. This will be enhanced by assistance from the United States, whose citizens fuel the demand for drugs. [continues 66 words]
Chicago -- The Sept. 12 editorial "Battling the meth `epidemic'" focuses needed public attention on one of America's biggest drug problems, methamphetamine. Meth is a powerful, unpredictable stimulant, produced in thousands of clandestine laboratories throughout the country. While Chicago's major drug problems are heroin and cocaine, below Interstate Highway 80 it is a different story. The scourge of meth has spread from six Western states in 1993 to almost every state in 2005. More than 5 percent of our population has used meth. Forty percent of state and local law enforcement officials identify meth as their greatest drug threat, surpassing all other illegal drugs. [continues 323 words]
Steve Chapman's "The war on drugs vs. the war on terrorism" (Commentary, Nov. 10) is frightening. While Chapman cannot deny the historic and direct connection between drug trafficking and terrorism, he suggests that we should make cocaine legal. If teddy bears were illegal, he says, then the terrorists would sell teddy bears. How many people will die tonight from hugging teddy bears? At least four will die from cocaine. There is no question that the major illegal drug trafficking source countries fuel terrorist groups, and have done so since the opium war in China 150 years ago. Recently terrorist groups attempted to trade heroin for missiles, and cocaine for grenade launchers and $25 million worth of weapons. [continues 202 words]
Former Sen. Paul Simon's column [March 30] on the need to provide funds for education and treatment to better fight drug abuse was on target. I was an administrator for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration from 1976 to 1981, and I have seen the loss of life of DEA special agents in Colombia, Mexico, Thailand and the United States--and the destruction of families and communities. This makes it a personal as well as a professional issue. Colombia is the source of 80 percent of the cocaine imported into the United States and more than 50 percent of the marijuana and heroin. Colombia needs all the help it can get to combat drug trafficking, but as Simon points out, U.S. resources need to be deployed more evenly, with greater emphasis on education and treatment. [continues 248 words]
CHICAGO -- The editorial "Groundswell for medical marijuana" (Nov. 8) represents a serious misperception of what is best for America. The editorial reports that there is growing recognition that marijuana may have therapeutic value as medicine and that our government ought to move in this direction. Such advice does a disservice to the public and is very ill-advised. Why isn't marijuana medicine? Because federal law requires a substance must be shown to be scientifically safe and effective and must be approved for use by the Federal Drug Administration. Marijuana does not meet these criteria. Marijuana contains an unstable mix of more than 460 chemicals. Smoking marijuana produces 2,000 chemicals. Known carcinogens in marijuana include napthalene, benzene and nitrosamines. [continues 334 words]
A great deal of attention in Congress and in the international press has been paid to whether the U.S. should "decertify" Mexico for failures in the drug war. Maybe we should decertify the United States as well because we are the cause of the drug problem. It is not the financiers in Mexico who have poured money into promoting the medical use of marijuana. It is not Mexican business that has cut by 30 percent the funds for the Partnership in a Drug Free America. It is not Mexican censors who have allowed our television and movies to glamorize violence and drugs and guns. The U.S. lowered its guard against drugs after the Gulf War in 1991, and we have not yet recovered. [continues 389 words]
