THE DRUG WARS CONTINUE -- AND THE DRUGS PERSIST

With every new administration comes the hope that they will actually use a
little common sense and reverse the tragic policies of the past. Instead,
they end useful things from previous administrations and enforce the same
old intolerances that have been handed down for generations. People who
succeed in politics do not do it by espousing unorthodox ideals. He who
sucks up the most, wins.

The War on Drugs began in 1929, when the 1st drug czar, Harry J. Anslinger,
began it. A law & order evangelist and a strict prohibitionist, he created
the Uniform State Narcotics Act. It launched with the support of only 9
states.

Between 1937 and 1947, they spent $220 million dollars on the war. Drugs
persisted.

Since the War began, the government has tried many different scare tactics
to get people to stop smoking marijuana. 'Smoke it and you will go insane.'
'Smoke it and you will become a heroine addict.' 'Smoke it and you will
withdraw from reality and undermine national security.' 'Smoke it and be in
the grip of Satan.' 'Smoke it and bad things will happen.' Only the last
was true. You could lose your home, your car, your family, your very
freedom. Who protects us from the protectors?

Every time it seemed a law wasn't working, they tried another ­ the
Marijuana Stamp Act of 1937, the Boggs Act of 1951, the Narcotic Control
Act of 1956. In 1961 the Government tried to persuade the world through the
United Nations, with no affect.

Between 1948 and 1963, $1.5 billion dollars were flushed. Drugs persisted.

Under Nixon, Henry Giordano was made the new drug czar. He enlisted 2,000
new customs agents to patrol the long Mexican border. After 3 weeks of
intensive investigation and heavy-handedness, Operation Intercept caught no
one. To save some face in the ever-failing War on Drugs, he launched the
Controlled Substance Act of 1970.

Between 1964 and 1969, $9 billion dollars were circular filed. Drugs
persisted.

The young of days gone by had been smoking it all along and realized they
weren't insane, they weren't addicted to heroine, and they didn't withdraw
from reality. After 40 years of war, they actually did some research into
the effects of marijuana. In 1972 the Government released 'Marijuana - A
Signal of Misunderstanding : The Official Report of the National Commission
on Marijuana and Drug Abuse'. It contradicted everything that had been
passed down about marijuana, and it sited marijuana as safer than
cigarettes or alcohol.

Nixon didn't read past the summary. Instead, he created the DEA.

Lee Patten