RUFF OPPOSES DRUG ENFORCEMENT; OTHERS DISAGREE

A candidate for Greenville's City Council District 3 seat said he
opposes the war on drugs and, as a council member, would hesitate to
approve Greenville police requests for drug interdiction funding.

Mike Ruff, who is vying with Ric Miller and Archie Smith for the seat
vacated by Inez Fridley, said targeting nonviolent drug users is
costly and ineffective, and comparable to alcohol prohibition in the
1920s and '30s.

"The war on drugs is wrong," Ruff wrote last week in a posting on The
Daily Reflector's Internet forum. "I do not, nor does any group, have
the right or authority to use force to impose our disapproval of such
things on those who willingly engage in such addictions."

While City Council members do not have jurisdiction over the federal
and state laws governing narcotic use and possession, they do play a
role in the funding of local enforcement and prevention.

Council members approve the police department's annual budget, and
they must authorize its intention to seek most federal and some state
grants. That authorization is most frequently exercised when a grant
will fund a new employee salary, which the city payroll will have to
assume at the end of the grant cycle.

In an interview Tuesday, Ruff reiterated that he would deny police
funding requests for drug interdiction, with no foreseeable
exceptions.

"To those requests, on the face of it, I would say no," Ruff said.
"We should re-prioritize our efforts away from getting nonviolent
drug offenders. That would give us more money, more officers.

"If we really want to be effective in fighting crime, we need to have
our police defending life and property."

Drug use and crime do not automatically go hand in hand, Ruff said,
adding that drug use without criminal activity is a victimless crime.
Police should step in only when a drug user violates another law,
like driving impaired, or committing robbery, he said.

"There are people who use illegal drugs, and they're fine," said
Ruff, who personally does not approve of illegal drug use.
"Obviously, it's not true that everyone who does drugs is a
psychopath criminal, and we shouldn't treat them as such."

His fellow candidates disagree.

Miller said he would consistently approve funding requested by
Greenville police for drug interdiction efforts, calling illegal
narcotics' prohibition, "the law of the land."

He believes nonviolent drug users exist but does not approve of their
practices.

"There are also some nonviolent alcohol users, there's some
nonviolent tobacco users," Miller said. "But I certainly can't see
the police turning their faces from the drug users. There is a drug
problem in Greenville."

Smith agreed.

"Drug use is a problem that merits attention by law enforcement
personnel, the public health agencies and every citizen," he said.

He believes he would serve a district largely removed from illegal
drug use and related crime in other parts of the city.

"Even though we have a fairly large number of students, I think
District 3 is isolated from those problems," Smith said.

He added that he would treat enforcement funding requests to the
council on a case-by-case basis.

"Saying the war on drugs is wrong as a whole is a moral judgement,"
Smith said. "As a city councilman, I would weigh carefully the
requests from police and make my judgement accordingly."

All three candidates agree that drug treatment programs are necessary
but should be funded by federal or state governments that establish
them.