CONCERNING RIGHT THING, WRONG REASONS, BY MARIO ROSSI

One can't help agreeing with Mario Rossi when he says sometimes the right
things are done for the wrong reasons. And sometimes wrong things are done
for the right reasons.

ReconsiDer does believe that our country's drug war is a failure and that
America needs to reconsider it's drug policy. We do not advocate any one
specific solution such as legalizing marijuana as he claims. ReconsiDer
seeks to encourage discussion of alternatives. We raise questions about
drug prohibition because it's racist, costs billions of dollars per year,
and has made America, the land of the free and home of 5% of the world's
population, home of 25% of the world's prisoners. Add to that the fact that
Mr. Rossi's ,as well as everyone else's liberties, as guaranteed under the
constitution, have decreased tremendously because of the drug war he is so
fond of. Then take into consideration that our drug policies have failed to
reduce drug use, let alone come close to giving us the "drug-free America"
we were promised for the year 2000, and I think you can see why we think
they need reconsidering.

ReconsiDer does not, and never "campaigned assiduously for ... measures
which they euphemistically label as drug reforms". ReconsiDer does not use
euphemisms. It has no hidden agenda. We have ,however, worked with New York
state senators and wrote legislation that would have limited the sale of
tobacco products to liquor stores and taverns instead of putting them next
to the Hershey bars in the candy store across from the school as we do
today. That's drug policy reform.

ReconsiDer has urged policy makers to study what other countries are doing
to reduce their drug use, and provided detailed information to help them in
that study. We have spoken at hundreds of colleges and Rotary Clubs to
interested, receptive audiences who know our drug policies have failed and
want information on alternatives.

Our members include several law enforcement officers including a former
Syracuse police chief , a US District Court judge, several physicians ,
attorneys, policy analysts, drug treatment providers, educators and other
professionals. These people disagree on what the alternative should be, but
agree that to continue to do the same things over and over hoping for
different results next time is foolhardy.

Of course legalizing marijuana is one of many reasonable alternatives to
throwing people in prison for years at a cost of hundreds of thousands of
dollars. In the Netherlands it is sold in hundreds of stores all over the
country to anyone over sixteen. Their teenage marijuana use rate is half
that of ours. Seems at least worth discussing if you are serious about
reducing teens marijuana use.

If Mr. Rossi is interested only in defending drug prohibition, he is
following the only course available to him; put words into your opponent's
mouths and then try to make them look simple-minded or evil. If, on the
other hand, Mr. Rossi is serious about keeping our kids safe from the
potential horrors of drug abuse, and cares about the Constitution and the
future of America we invite him to come and talk to us. Discuss with us some
of the alternatives to current policy, perhaps do a little reading on the
subject. I'm sure that he'd find some significant parts of our drug policy
that he'd want to change. He might even think that our objecting to the
governments bribing the media was the right thing done for the right
reasons.

Nicolas Eyle, executive director
ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy
205 Onondaga Ave.
Syracuse, New York 13207-1439
tel:(315)422.6231
e-mail: eyle@reconsider.org