IT'S THE DRUG WARRIORS WHO ARE ADDICTED

Recently the libertarian-minded Republican governor of New Mexico, Gary
Johnson, stepped forward in a call for a national debate on the war on
drugs, a policy of militarized prohibition that every day sees more and more
citizens and editorialists calling it a failure.

I have been watching this drama play out from the first day that Gov.
Johnson took this brave stand. I believe that those who oppose his view do
so by mischaracterizing his statements and replaying the deceitful rhetoric
of the past, both of which are by design meant to appeal to emotion rather
than reason.

The mere fact that the drug warriors prefer to demonize Gov. Johnson rather
than enter into debate should be cause for every clear-thinking citizen to
look deeper into this subject.

How can one possibly justify engaging in a war in which your opponent simply
cannot be defeated? In this case the enemy being fought is supply. Supply
cannot be defeated because there is and always will be demand.

In any marketplace, whether it be black market or legitimate, demand creates
supply. This is precisely why we must address regulating drugs and work
toward curbing demand through education and public health measure.

Now let's look at why members of the law enforcement community and
politicians of both major parties would prefer to attack Gov. Johnson
rather than address the issues he brings forward: Just as there is
tremendous profit to be made in selling drugs illegally, there is also great
profit in waging this war. Perhaps these officials, who me-thinks doth
protest too much, are addicted to the power and money that comes from being
co-opted by the drug warriors in Washington.

Perhaps drug war-mongering politicians are required to adhere to the party
line of prohibition because law enforcement, Customs, the prison, industrial
complex, the drug-testing industry, the INS, the CIA, the FBI, the DEA and
the politicians themselves can't live without the budget justification, not
to mention the invisible profits, bribery, corruption and forfeiture
benefits that prohibition affords them.

Addiction indeed comes form many sources other than just substances.

The real threat to our society does not come from the small percentage among
us who choose to foolishly ingest drugs. The real threat comes from the
incremental subversions our rights suffer from the growing police state due
to the proliferation of this war. This was on drugs breeds contempt within
law enforcement for citizens' civil rights, including privacy and property
rights.

Even the most basic right, the right to life, has been deemed to be
forfeitable by the anti-drug lords. Those in law enforcement who criticize
Gov. Johnson should take a look at their weaponry, tactics and mandates from
Washington and then tell me this is not true. Better yet, tell the family of
Mario Paz.

Mario Paz was shot to death on Aug. 9, 1999, by an El Monte Police
Department SWAT squad in his Compton home of 30 years. Paz and his wife were
awakened to the sounds of their doors being blasted open with shotguns,
flash-bang grenades exploding inside and out, and the sight of armed
intruders dressed fully in black. Paz was a 65-year-old grandfather of 14
children. His wife of 40 years was kept outside dressed only in panties, a
towel and handcuffs while the SWAT team conducted their futile search.

We give murderers the opportunity to appeal a death sentence because we know
we must be certain that there is no chance an innocent person is put to
death. We must indeed look at what this war on drugs is doing to our sweet
land of liberty.