DRUG CZAR DEFENDED

An error-filled letter to the editor by Charles M. Darlington of May 28,
"Drug czar challenged," unfairly criticized Dr. Andrea Barthwell with
questionable charges of "self-serving hypocrisy," "contempt for the
democratic process," "double dipping" and "self-seeking opportunist." None
of this from my knowledge of her as a fellow drug prevention activist is true.

Barthwell is opposed to the druggie proposal to legalize smoked marijuana
as medicine because of her medical background, which makes her intimately
aware of the health hazards of smoking anything. Her support for Sativex
medicine is entirely dependent upon it passing FDA clearance and approval,
just as morphine is accepted as a legally approved derivative of illegal
opium. We preventionists all agree on that.

We also agree with Barthwell that smoked pot will never be anything other
than another snake-oil medicine to cheat desperate sick people. That is
also our rationale for defeating the Illinois bill to virtually legalize
smoked pot as medicine, which was proposed by drug legalizers. It is not
hypocrisy to support the official evaluation of Sativex by FDA while
opposing unapproved smoked pot snake-oil medicine.

It is also a phony claim that Barthwell ducks public debate on so-called
"drug law reform." She and I and many other drug prevention activists are
more than willing to debate drug legalizers and their legal profession
supporters at any time, as I did in my recent debate with the pro-drug ACLU
lawyer Kent Willis during the Williamsburg forum on May 25, held to discuss
the case for adopting random student drug testing in WJC Schools.

Darlington's reference to Clinton administration former drug czar Barry
McCaffrey promoting drug testing while he was in office was false. That did
not happen, even though we drug prevention activists frequently pleaded
with him to endorse random student drug testing to protect our kids. It was
only after Gen. McCaffrey was replaced with Bush administration drug czar
John Walters and Barthwell as his deputy that the Office of National Drug
Control Policy began to promote random testing in response to drug-besieged
citizens' requests.

A key to understanding where Darlington was coming from was in his
statement citing the "futility of attempting to control illicit drugs,"
which is a pure druggie mantra that we drug prevention activists reject.

We're going to win. For the sake of America's drug-endangered children,
families and communities, we must. And dedicated, honest health
professionals like Barthwell are going to help us make that happen.

DeForest Rathbone, Chairman

National Institute of Citizen Anti-drug Policy

Great Falls