VOTERS WARNED ABOUT INITIATIVE B'S ULTERIOR MOTIVE: LEGALIZING DRUGS

If It Passes, Criminals, Not The Innocent, Will Benefit

An initiative has been brought by an out-of-state group, backed and funded
by those whose ultimate aim is legalizing drugs, that would allow drug
dealers to keep the ill-gotten proceeds of their criminal acts.

Sound incredible? Well, the truth of the matter is that an initiative will
appear on the November general election ballot that will cause this very
situation to occur, and it is offered in the name of taking forfeiture
assets and giving them to the Uniform School Fund of the state of Utah. In
fact, that is the way it was sold to the citizens who signed the petition
to put this initiative on the ballot.

A little research into who would offer this initiative finds that George
Soros, a billionaire who spends part of his fortune on legalizing drugs, is
at the heart of it. In fact, Mr. Soros has been referred to as the "Daddy
Warbucks of Drug Legalization" by Joseph Califano of Columbia University's
National Center on Substance Abuse. The Nation, a periodical, has referred
to Mr. Soros as "a leading voice for Americans who want to decriminalize
drug use."

Initiative B is a clever, legal rewriting of certain sections of 17
existing Utah laws, some of which are as recent as the 1999 Legislature,
and one dates back to the 1965 Legislature. The ability to change this many
laws without proper hearings and legislative process gives rise to a simple
question? Who are we trying to help here and why? We certainly are saying
that 34 years of representative government in Utah was not done properly.

Contained on page 49 of this 61-page initiative in paragraph 4-C may be one
answer. What used to say "property legitimately exchanged for services
rendered ..." has been changed to "property exchanged or to be exchanged
for services rendered in connection with the defense of the charges or any
related criminal case." The benefactor of this then becomes the drug dealer
and his or her defense attorney, not the Uniform School Fund, because there
won't be any funds left after that process.

Also is some rewording of such terms as "net proceeds and gross proceeds."
Should drug dealers only be responsible for the net difference between the
cost of the property acquired and the direct costs for acquiring the
property in the forfeiture and fine process? That is in this initiative.
There are many other examples of this legalese in this initiative.

What can we tell our government leaders, our citizens and our fellow law
enforcement professionals? Please read Initiative B carefully. If you do
and they do, I think you will come to some conclusions.

1) Initiative B will increase the cost of enforcement and prosecution
against the most predatory criminals in Utah hard-core drug dealers.

2) Initiative B will probably dramatically increase the cost of prosecuting
drug criminals, which will most likely mandate some type of tax increase.

3) The campaign for Initiative B is funded in part by pro-drug legalization
groups who could care less about Utah citizens or our children.

4) The forfeiture statutes that this bill changes are not a problem.
According to the most recent Utah legislative audit of law enforcement
agencies conducted this last year, they could find no abuses of the current
laws by any agencies.

In Ogden, for instance, this forfeiture money is used to fund the DARE and
the Drug Abuse Calendar program in the Ogden City School District.

What is the bottom line here? The bottom line is that every major law
enforcement organization in Utah is asking citizens to vote "No" on this
initiative -- that includes sheriffs, police chiefs, prosecutors and patrol
organizations.

A group of concerned citizens representing government, law enforcement, the
private sector and informed citizens are forming the "Utah Coalition to
Stop Drug Dealer Profits" to fight this Goliath, Mr. Soros, and his
legalizing drug views.

Please join me and other concerned citizens in getting out the word to vote
against Initiative B.