LUNGREN'S DRUG WAR CRIMES

Re "Lungren, back in House, finds he's elder statesman," May 2: The image
of Dan Lungren as an "elder statesman" is a chilling one.Lungren's prior
record as a congressman and California attorney general make clear that
neither limited government nor respect for the will of voters are among his
cardinal political values. When it comes to the drug war, which annually
wastes billions of taxpayer dollars and ruins hundreds of thousands of
lives, Lungren always places sloganeering and "get tough" posturing above
all other policy considerations. Nowhere is this more evident than on the
subject of medical marijuana. As attorney general, Lungren ordered raids on
medical cannabis clubs. After Californians passed Proposition 215,
expressly authorizing the use of medical marijuana, he refused to enforce
that landmark law in wanton disregard of his state constitutional duties.

Perhaps his stint as a radio talk show host taught him a degree of
intellectual humility. If not, his trademark intractability will serve him
every bit as well as it did 20 years ago. Given the vogue of big-government
conservatism, where spendthrift political indulgences in the evisceration
of liberties are not vices, he should feel right at home.

- - Nikos A. Leverenz, Sacramento, Analyst, Drug Policy Alliance