TAKE UP CHALLENGE ON DRUG WAR ISSUE

Never heard back from the challenger. Guess his Washington bosses didn't
approve of his gauntlet tossing.

You may recall a previous mention here about a fellow with a powerful
position in fighting the drug war who sent me a letter: "I CHALLENGE you to
a public debate on the topic of Ending the War on Drugs," it said.

I'm on record as not liking any kind of public speaking that requires quick
rejoinders, a smooth flow of words and a reliable memory of facts. My
expression preference is for writing at my own slow pace, and with a
variety of ready references for information retrieval.

But rather than have the formidable drug warrior/letter writer think me a
chicken, I called him to accept his CHALLENGE, only to be told that he
couldn't accept my acceptance until obtaining approvals right on up his
command chain clear to Washington.

Can't say I'm too disappointed. It was going to be a lot of work getting
everything ready. I've watched enough old movies with duel scenes to know
the one being challenged gets to set some conditions, so I said we would
each form four-man teams.

Who Gets An Invitation?

Deciding who to invite, from the great many qualified potential debaters
across the land who volunteered or who were recommended by others, would
have been a major task. While awaiting some final word from the challenger,
I have mentioned a few of the country's high-profile drug war critics.
People like a judge, and like a retired police chief. People who know from
personal experience that the drug war is doing more harm than drugs.

People who are good at explaining how the war has eroded your rights, even
if you have never tried any drug. And how punishments are too severe to fit
the nonviolent drug crimes. And how drugs should be a medical issue instead
of a criminal justice issue. And how legalizing and controlling drugs would
eliminate the street dealers who make it so easy for kids to buy them now.

By the way, I offered to provide information here about the qualifications
of some folks the challenger might consider for his team, but I guess that
also would have required approval from his Washington bosses.

If the debate actually had materialized, I probably would have avoided the
trouble and expense of bringing people in and simply relied upon some of
this region's experts on drug policy issues. Volunteers include a law
professor, a pharmacologist and many others who are armed with a vast
accumulation of research and observations.

And I could have provided the challenger with a few names of people willing
to debate in favor of the drug war. One is a former policeman and
prosecutor who now is a college instructor. He said he backs the drug war
only because it is easier to catch and convict people for using drugs than
it is to catch them committing certain other crimes such as burglaries. He
contends that locking up drug users results in a drop in these other crimes.

Knows From Experience

Another man who volunteered to join the challenger's team is a former drug
abuser who said he knows from experience how bad illegal drugs are, and
anything that bad should remain illegal. He said he believes that ending
the drug war would send the wrong message, and kids would accept it as
evidence that doing drugs is OK. He said the fear of being caught and
prosecuted was one of the factors that finally convinced him to leave drugs
alone.

A man who owns a local company that does drug screening also offered to
debate in favor of the drug war. He said that citizens look to the
government "for the nod of approval on almost anything they eat, drink or
do in their lives. After all, that is what they are there for, to keep us
safe."

Well. Since the drug warrior who challenged me apparently won't be allowed
to follow through, I am referring any interested parties to the Drug Policy
Forum of Texas, an organization that is working to increase awareness and
knowledge on drug policy issues with the goal of finding "better and more
effective ways to reduce the harm caused by drugs and drug-related activities."

Many members of DPFT are trying to locate qualified people willing to
debate on the side that supports the drug war. However, if you currently
are employed in waging that war, you apparently will need your bosses'
approvals to participate.