REALITY VS. PERCEPTION

The War On Drugs Has Conquered Only Common Sense

President Richard Nixon announced a War on Drugs in 1972. At that time
there were about 200,000 individuals in prisons in the United States.
Now, 28 years later, with a federal anti-drug budget of just under $20
billion, the prison and drug population has topped two million
persons! As Roger Clawson, in a Gazette column published in 1995,
said, "In comparison, the Vietnam War was a splendidly successful campaign."

In addition to its demonstrated lack of success, the War on Drugs has
had other effects that may be categorized under some of the following
headings:

Wasted lives and eroded civil liberties

In 1997, the State of Oklahoma sentenced a father convicted of
murdering his son to four years in prison, and a 57-year-old arthritic
who grew marijuana to self-medicate the pain of his disease was
sentenced to 93 years in prison.

Police broke into the apartment of a retired Black Baptist minister in
Boston early one morning, handcuffed him, and, in the melee, he had a
heart attack and died. Later they discovered that they had the wrong
address, but "no-knock" policy authorized the action.

Tonya Drake, age 35, mother of four, no criminal record or history of
drug use, was paid $44 to mail a package for a friend, unaware that it
contained 232 grams of cocaine. Sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

We incarcerate black men at a rate of 3,109 per 100,000. South Africa,
with its former policy of apartheid, had a rate of only 729 black men
for every 100,000.

Hypocrisy

There are approximately 3,500 deaths per year from illegal drug
overdoses and usage. There are 400,000 deaths per year in the United
States from tobacco-related illnesses, and tobacco is the drug which
is legal!

Most authorities believe that nicotine is much more addictive than any
other drug available on the market. Alcohol has the highest index of
aggressivity (road rage, family abuse, etc.) of any available drug,
yet both of these drugs are legal.

In their desperate attempts to stem illegal drug use, "drug experts"
often indulge in grossly distorted diatribes against marijuana - blaming
it for decreased sperm production, atrophy of reproductive organs in
women, destroying chemicals in the brain, etc. From the Department of
Psychiatry at Harvard medical school comes the information that "One
of marijuana's greatest advantages as a medicine is its remarkable
safety. It has little effect on major physiological functions."

Damage to Foreign Relations

Our drug policy has led to thousands of deaths and enormous loss of
wealth in countries like Colombia, Peru and Mexico, and has undermined
the stability of their governments. The tremendous (and constantly
growing) demand for illegal drugs in the United States makes
interdiction patently impossible. (The Mennonite Church of Colombia
has written the Clinton administration, imploring them NOT to send $1
billion in military aid to the Colombian government.)

Robert Barro, professor of economics at Harvard, says, "Instead of
Washington providing money to the Colombian government, we should
begin thinking of curtailing the cash that American consumers send to
the other side - the guerrillas. This could be accomplished, virtually
overnight, by legalizing drugs in the U.S." (Emphasis mine.)

Solutions

Given the fact that humankind always has and always will use drugs,
how can we minimize the harm to lives and maximize the positive
effects of money dedicated to solving the drug problem. Some suggested
solutions are:

Needle-exchange programs. The furnishing of sterile needles to addicts
helps to eliminate the spread of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C. These
programs have been endorsed by almost all public health
authorities.

Drug courts which impose strict but positive treatment and behavior
guidelines on drug offenders. They cost only a small fraction (under
$1,000/year vs. $25,000 for prison) of the money needed to incarcerate
offenders, and result in positive effects, rather than the
life-ruining effects of prison.

Repeal the draconian mandatory sentencing guidelines which take away
judicial flexibility and authority. Put the money thus saved into drug
treatment programs.

Results

Perhaps the most important step for this nation to take is to approach
the abuse of drugs in a unified manner - considering the abuse of all
drugs (whether currently legal or illegal) as illness to be treated
rather than punished. This will:

Cut our massive and ineffective drug interdiction budget

Eliminate the assaults upon civil rights and remove the incentive to
build further expensive prisons.

Improve our relations with neighboring countries.

Take the profit out of drug-dealing.