OUR VIEW

HIGHER COURTS MUST DEBATE DRUG LAWS

Julian Heicklen's quixotic attack on marijuana laws completed its first
stage on Wednesday. His plea for aquittal on minor drug charges --
basically possession and use of marijuana -- was struck down by a Centre
County jury, which wisely listened to President Judge Charles C. Brown
Jr.'s charge: "Even if you don't like the law ... you must follow it."

A lower court is not the place to deliberate the merits of the law -- its
job is to decide whether the laws, as written, were broken or upheld. This
jury had to consider the evidence in Heicklen's case and make a judgment
based on that evidence.

Heicklen's claims that the state's drug laws violate his constitutional
freedoms will be for higher courts to decide, should the retired chemistry
professor move ahead with plans to appeal the conviction. There, the courts
will have to consider the issue as they have done so many times in the past
- -- do the dangers of drug use among children and adults outweigh the
personal freedoms of individuals to have their vices?

These are important questions, especially in light of some troubling
developments in recent years regarding our nation's drug problem. However,
these are not questions that will be answered in Centre County.

The number of teens using drugs remains high, and their use of more
powerful drugs like heroin and cocaine appears to be increasing. This is a
serious concern.

Drug use among children and adults can lead to serious health and social
problems, problems which affect not only individuals, but their families
and society as well.

Just like alcohol abuse, drug abuse is a serious illness, and like any
other illness, it needs to be controlled. Some anti-drug measures make
sense -- such as funding for drug education programs in schools, increased
police patrols in areas prone to drug-related crime and stiff sentences for
dealers.

Unfortunately, drugs have become a dangerous rhetorical crutch in our
political process. A candidate with no real accomplishments or significant
views on other issues can gain a lot of truck at election time by taking a
generic "tough on drugs" stance, and enjoy success because few politicians
would risk taking any stance that could be interpreted as supporting drug use.

As a result, the legislatures and the courts have taken some steps that
certainly go beyond getting "tough on drugs" and get into the realm of
violating constitutional freedoms -- such as weakening search and seizure
rules -- for the sake of political grandstanding.

Clearly, the laws inspired by the War on Drugs are not working, because the
drug problem persists and grows. But in the eyes of the local courts, they
are still the laws, and must be enforced as such.

It's unreasonable to think that such a huge issue will be resolved in a
Centre County courtroom.

Checked-by: Richard Lake