`DRUG-WAR SPEAK'

ST. PAUL -- Stephen Chapman rightly chastises Gen. Barry McCaffrey for
formulating public policy on an unfactual basis ("In the drug war, fantasy
beats facts," Commentary, July 23), but he withheld the most important
punch. McCaffrey's misinformation is not random; it is systematic. Whether
it's his disingenuous characterizations of needle exchange, medical
marijuana or drug legalization, McCaffrey does not misspeak in ways that
make America's current drug policy look bad, only in ways that justify it.
Politeness aside, Gen. McCaffrey is a liar.

Drug-war propaganda simplifies the complex relationship between drug, user
and context of use. It depicts "drugs" mythically as autonomous evil agents
that enslave and derange. This simplification encourages that all manner of
demonic attributions be given to drugs. The "Reefer Madness" film enhanced
the drug-scare myth in the '30s, as did the LSD-chromosome-damage brouhaha
in the '60s and the crack-baby hysteria in the '80s and '90s. The "meth
menace" is the latest scare campaign.

As McCaffrey's statements show, "drug-war speak" has its own ground
rules--no matter how false, misleading or inaccurate a statement may be,
it's desirable if it supports the drug war. Falsity is readily forgiven and
plausible exaggeration encouraged.

These dynamics make it impossible for anti-drug officials to acknowledge
phenomena like controlled drug use (which is the case for 85 percent of
users), the medicinal value of marijuana, the constructiveness of needle
exchange or the stubborn fact that Dutch policy yields better results than
the U.S. drug war.

Paul M. Bischke Co-director, Drug Policy Reform Group of Minnesota

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)