The media's most recent attempt to create an issue out of George
Bush's cocaine use as a private citizen is but another example of
junk-food journalism that served only to obfuscate the more important
issue of his record on drugs as a public official.

As governor of Texas, George Bush slashed drug treatment programs and
increased criminal penalties for drug users that resulted in a 60
percent increase in the Texas prison population. He also signed
legislation approving the loss of welfare benefits and the loss of
college grants to those who use illegal drugs.

Governor Bush may claim to be a compassionate conservative, and the
corporation-controlled media may recite the mantra ad nauseam, but his
policy on drugs speaks volumes about what the public should and should
not expect from a George Bush presidency.

If Governor Bush successfully buys the presidency in the new
millennium, we should expect more punishment for those unable to
afford the acts of youthful indiscretion that only the privileged and
the politically powerful are permitted to enjoy without suffering any
consequences.

We should also expect an escalation of the war on drugs, which after
two decades has only resulted in a further blurring of the distinction
between a democracy and a police state. This is evidenced by an
increase in the prison population, which already exceeds that of any
other country, and the continuing erosion of civil liberties once
guaranteed by a constitution that proclaims life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness for its citizens.

Finally, we should expect another $17 billion to be wasted by big
government on a growing prison-industrial complex instead of being
more prudently used to ensure that all Americans have adequate and
affordable health care, to improve our educational system, to train
workers who were displaced by corporate downsizing, and provide jobs
for those in need due to welfare reform.

In the final analysis, the only thing we should not expect from a
George Bush presidency is a drug policy that is based on compassion or
the financial conservatism of less government.

John J. Pagoda
Albany Chapter, ReconsiDer