MCCAIN HAS 2 STANDARDS ON DRUG ABUSE
Election 2000: The GOP Candidate Is A Hawk In The Drug War, Yet His
Wife Got No Penalty.

Much has been made of allegations of possible youthful use of illegal
drugs by Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush. Meanwhile,
his chief GOP opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, has admitted that
his wife not only illegally used drugs but walked away from criminal
charges. The McCains have worked to make Cindy McCain's addiction into
a political asset--despite the fact that she stole the drugs from a
charity she directed and used them while mothering four young children.

In 1994, Mrs. McCain admitted that she had solicited prescriptions
for painkillers from physicians who worked for an international
charity that she founded, the American Voluntary Medical Team. She
then filled the prescriptions in the names of her staff. There are two
ways to react to this behavior. According to the Betty Ford model,
people can sympathetically respond to the oppressed and ignored wife
of a busy politician who has bravely come forward to admit her
overpowering addiction. Mrs. McCain took this posture when she first
tearfully confessed her addiction. She and her husband repeated this
performance in October on the NBC program "Dateline."

The other possible public reaction is one of anger. Americans are
prosecuted every day for such drug use. While most drug abusers
purchase their drugs from street dealers, Mrs. McCain used her status
as a charity director and senator's wife to cajole the drugs she wanted.

In fact, Mrs. McCain was investigated by the Drug Enforcement
Administration after the agency was approached by a former staff
member of her charity. The investigation resulted in no charges or
prison time for her, and she entered a diversion program. While these
records were not made public at the time, Mrs. McCain eventually
confessed her drug use when she learned that a reporter was
investigating the story.

Is Mrs. McCain to be judged as a pitiable victim or as a criminal
felon? This debate is at the heart of the discussion of American drug
policy. Should we deal with illicit drug users as victims or as criminals?

Let's examine Mrs. McCain's position in these terms. She was the
privileged wife of a prominent family and spouse of an important
politician, a person who had her own position of prestige and power.
Should she not be held at least as accountable for her actions as an
uneducated inner-city drug user? After all, she could enter drug
treatment at any time she chose, unlike many drug users who find
themselves in prison.

Moreover, Mrs. McCain was violating a position of trust by stealing
from a charitable organization, using its money and medical expertise
to fuel her drug use. Is this not morally more reprehensible than
simply purchasing drugs illegally?

Finally, Mrs. McCain was the mother of four children at the time she
admits to using drugs--between 1989 and 1992. Her children were born
in 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1991. In other words, Cindy McCain was using
drugs while raising small children, one of whom she adopted while she
was an addict. In most states, family services will remove children
from a woman who is known to be an active drug addict, and she would
certainly not be allowed to adopt a child while addicted.

John McCain is a hawk in the drug war. He advocates stricter drug
laws, penalties and enforcement against drug sellers. He has had
nothing to say about redressing our punitive approach toward drug
users. Of course, McCain also supports family values. Yet if John and
Cindy McCain were not well-off and influential, they might not have a
family at all. McCain's lack of concern for street drug users
contrasts sharply with the support and understanding his wife
received. It's the old American double standard. For
"straight-shooter" McCain, charity begins at home-- and ends there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stanton Peele, a New Jersey Psychologist and Attorney and Author of
"Diseasing of America" (Jossey-bass, 1995), Is a Senior Fellow of the
Lindesmith Center, a Drug Policy Think Tank in New York and San Francisco