ANTI-POT CAMPAIGN NOT PROPAGANDA, SAYS GAO

With the General Accounting Office (GAO) declaring that White House ads
touting the benefits of the new Medicare law stray into a gray area of
political advocacy, another, less noticed GAO opinion states that an
election-year, anti-medical-marijuana initiative by the White House Office
of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) was perfectly legal.

In the run-up to the November 2002 elections, with medical marijuana
initiatives on the ballot in several states, ONDCP Deputy Director Scott
Burns wrote to local prosecutors stressing their role in "fighting the
normalization of marijuana."

His letter made a number of statements that medical marijuana advocates
considered inaccurate, including that "marijuana and violence are linked"
and "no credible research suggests" that marijuana has medical uses.

In April of last year, libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) asked the GAO to
investigate whether the Burns letter violated the ban on using taxpayer
funds for "publicity and propaganda" as well as the long-standing GAO
position that "the government should not disseminate misleading information."

In responding to Paul nearly a year later, just last week, the GAO
declared, in essence, that the veracity of ONDCP's statements is
irrelevant. "Even though the statements may have been controversial, wrote
GAO General Counsel Anthony Gamboa, "they were made within the context of
ONDCP's statuatory responsibilities, which include taking such actions as
necessary to oppose efforts to legalize certain substances."

He further pointed out that the executive branch is only prohibited from
"communications aimed at influencing legislation pending before the
Congress," not state legislative bodies.

"It is unfortunate, although not surprising, that the GAO counsel believes
the ONDCP acts within its bounds when it engages in political action at
taxpayer expense," said Paul. "Imagine the outcry if IRS staff traveled the
country arguing against tax cuts at the state level! Drug laws, like
virtually all criminal laws, are wholly the province of states. Neither
Congress nor any administration had the authority to create and fund a
federal drug-war cheerleading agency."