THE DRUGGIE'S JUDGE

August 6, 2001 -- Manhattan Federal Court Judge Robert Sweet, in his
ongoing bid to strike down every law against the use of dangerous drugs,
has now opened a door that could wipe out the NYPD's highly effective
sweeps of high-drug areas.

Sweet last week gave a green light to a class-action lawsuit against the
city for arresting drug addicts enrolled in needle-exchange programs.

The ruling was strictly one of legal procedure (Sweet said only that the
lawsuit could be expanded from one plaintiff to potentially thousands of
others). But the judge's larger drug-legalization campaign was very much in
evidence.

Sweet, after all, sits on the board of directors of the Drug Policy
Foundation, which advocates the complete legalization of all drugs,
including cocaine, crack and heroin. It strongly backs needle-exchange
programs and allowing doctors to prescribe "recreational" drugs.

In the case at hand, a 21-year-old homeless heroin addict with AIDS (Sweet
allowed him to remain anonymous for fear he'd otherwise be in danger) says
he was arrested during a 1999 police drug sweep in Greenwich Village, for
possession of drugs and a syringe.

"James Roe" (the addict) claims the cops ignored the card that identified
him as a needle-exchange participant and that allowed him to carry the
syringe. The DA's office eventually declined to prosecute, but "Roe" now
wants monetary damages - and for everyone else who's been similarly
arrested to share the wealth.

Cops rightly note that there's no reason to immediately release anyone who
flashes one of these "get out of jail free" cards without an investigation.
Fake IDs are a dime a dozen in New York.

Yet the lawsuit seems aimed less at protecting anyone from unfair jail time
and more at eliminating the NYPD's entire anti-drug policy. The lawyers
charge that police have an established "practice of unlawfully harassing,
arresting and prosecuting injection-drug users."

Indeed, the suit makes the preposterous claim that police sweeps actually
endanger public health - by discouraging people from participating in
needle-exchange programs out of fear of arrest.

Such assertions are par for the course for the Urban Justice Center, which
is backing "Roe's" claim: In challenging - unsuccessfully - the city's
program of arresting homeless loiterers who refuse to be taken to a
shelter, the center charged that the city sought to "oppress, threaten and
humiliate" the homeless.

All of which should make clear what this case really is about: A left- wing
activist group intent on blocking every effort to bring positive change to
this city, and a judge who likewise thinks that New York would be better
off if drugs were available for the asking.