DEBATE ON VALIDITY OF WAR ON DRUGS BRINGS OUT VARIETY OF OPINIONS

CLAREMONT - The never-ending war on drugs debate came to Pitzer
College earlier this week.

Jim Gray, a Law Enforcement Against Prohibition member, and Kevin A.
Sabet, a senior adviser for drug czars in the Clinton and Bush
administrations, traded barbs on Tuesday night in front of a packed
room inside the Gold Student Center.

Gray said he was on the side of ending the war on drugs while Sabet
supported the current policy, with tweaks.

Gray, a former Republican turned Libertarian, told the audience in
his opening remarks that it is easier for young people to obtain
illegal drugs such as marijuana than legal drugs such as cigarettes
and alcohol.

The billions of dollars that taxpayers would save not fighting the
war on drugs and instead taxing drugs such as marijuana would lead to
a billion dollar profit, Gray said.

But Sabet countered that Gray's arguments were too simplified to be
taken seriously.

"None have been backed up by evidence," Sabet said. "It's easy to say
public policy doesn't work but it's harder to find solutions."

The Students for Sensible Drug Policy group sponsored the event -
titled "The War on Drugs - A Debate: Is Current Drug Policy Effective?"

While students applauded both men, the cheers for Gray were much
louder throughout the evening.

Gray said decriminalizing illegal drugs would help solve the problem
of Mexican gangs, while Sabet considered that a leap because an
underground market for illegal drugs could be created that undercuts
the prices.

Gray said the war on drugs led to "small time" drug dealers and
illegal substance users getting unnecessary prison terms while Sabet
said those statistics were not true.

Gray's said decriminalization of marijuana in Holland had showed
usage going down so much that country officials said, "We have
succeeded in making pot boring."

He said the regulated usage among adults would likely increase
initially but then come down within six to 18 months.

Sabet called Gray's observations "quite simplistic."

Holland coffee shops, or places where marijuana can be purchased, had
shown a "three-fold increase" when compared to a lower marijuana
usage against the United States' usage.

During a question and answer session, Sabet said federal statistics
showed just 64 people in 2004 had been incarcerated on federal crack
cocaine laws, but he felt the law should be changed to allow that the
sentencing be equal with other drugs.

Sabet added the war on drugs should not be stopped, similarly the
fact the war on poverty should not be stopped.

Gray said the government statistics could not be trusted because they
were mostly voluntary.

The two speakers also disagreed over the safety of allowing drugs
like heroin to be legalized.

Gray pointed out Switzerland had a program where a doctor, registered
nurse and a social worker gave heroin addicts the drug in a clinic for $10.

The addicts, who are injected with the assistance of a doctor, were
more than 50 percent employed while merchants surrounding clinics
have experienced a large decrease in crime.

The country voted 70 percent to keep the program going, Gray said.

Sabet described giving drugs to addicts as "not compassionate" and
said the program occurred in the worst part of the city because "they
want to put them on the edge of society."

He said addicts have been found to prefer methadone on studies conducted.