AMERICAN DRUG WAR FRIEND ONLY TO DEALERS AND PRISON INDUSTRY

VEGA - Thirty-plus years ago, President Richard Nixon declared war on
drugs by appointing the first drug czar and expanding the government.
Since that time, American taxpayers have spent over $250 billion on
that war. We continue to spend $10 million per month in Colombia alone.

Later, as first lady Nancy Reagan told us to "just say no,"
Washington, D.C., had the worst drug problem in the nation.

America continues to consume 90 percent of the world's illegal drugs,
mainly because so many other countries are trying legalization and
imposing taxes on recreational drugs.

Like so much of America's government, the war on drugs is "failed
policy." Texas alone has spent $26 billion combating drugs since
2000. I do not need liberal thinking or new math to calculate that at
$4.4 billion per year.

If we take an honest, close look at what America has created, we see
how much it resembles the Prohibition era.

Diet pills, speed, amphetamine and methamphetamine were not illegal
until the mid-20th century. Various "uppers," including the infamous
cocaine, were used mainly as hangover relief. Amphetamine (bennies)
were handed out regularly to troops during World War II.

Yet, since these stimulants were not yet stigmatized - like the drugs
used in Vietnam - most soldiers went untreated. The same was true for
upper-class housewives and their white-collar husbands. Elvis
Presley, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and many others used
amphetamines as a way to function in their line of work. Most
eventually got caught up in a Prohibition-style clamp-down on speed.
Overnight, like alcohol during Prohibition, speed of all forms was
made illegal.

What were normal people to do? Just like Prohibition, normal people
became abnormal criminals. And just like alcohol, drugs were smuggled
in through Mexico or Canada or manufactured in clandestine labs (the
modern counterpart of moonshine stills).

From alcohol to Ecstasy, "bootleggers" always adapt to changing
times. Alcohol can be made with rice, corn or fruit, with sugar,
syrup or honey for fermentation. The modern dope cook simply finds a
new recipe.

I spent more than 20 years making, selling and using drugs. I have
watched as this process has matured and manifested into what you see
today. And I have witnessed an ever-growing prison population that
once included myself.

Prison officials have requested a prison expansion that will cost
taxpayers half a billion dollars. The expansion is to provide 11,000
new prison beds by 2010.

Texas already has 100-plus prison units, many housing over 2,000
inmates. Every unit houses a public industry for profit - egg farms,
packing plants, soap factories. And each has free labor, which is one
motive for continuing the war on drugs. Texas may be the only state
left that does not pay its inmates, standing on the controversial
"good time" scam that has prompted repeated federal investigations.
At least once a decade, the Texas prison system comes under
indictment or investigation for something.

Texans - no, Americans - have some hard choices to make. We see our
children experimenting with all sorts of drugs; many are unafraid to
consume any number of pills and powders. Like our failed school
system, America has a failed drug policy. We feed our children all
types of pharmaceuticals and act surprised when they try to
self-medicate. New drugs and new disorders pop up every year, causing
more confusion and abuse.

Is the answer legalization, with stiffer penalties for trafficking? I
don't know.

Is the answer more prisons for the ever-growing population of
non-violent juvenile offenders? I don't know.

What I do know is that what we are doing is not working. Like
Prohibition, no one is saying "no." And like Prohibition, normal
people fall into a cycle of abuse.

Oprah and Dr. Phil parade addicts around for ratings and dollars,
perhaps helping a select few. Yet, our federal and state governments
waste billions on failed policy.

How many more children will die? How many more babies will be born
addicted? How much longer will we accept failed policy?

Everywhere I go, I try to be an "evangelist of redemption and
rehabilitation." I try so hard to help people understand the true
nature of addiction and recovery by reflecting on the history of
drugs in America. Most places, Amarillo included, do not want to hear my story.

Instead, you would rather consult a doctor or a trial lawyer for
advice. How long were they addicted? How long is their sobriety?

Amarillo hosts two prison units and numerous treatment facilities.
All the while you claim your teen drug use is down but alcohol use is
up. I believe your numbers are wrong.

Teen drug use is an epidemic nationwide. Amarillo is no different.