DEMS ON DRUGS: ANY QUESTIONS?

Last week's youth-oriented CNN Democratic candidate forum, "America
Rocks the Vote," was forgettable for many reasons -- except for the
admissions by three candidates that they had, in the past, inhaled.
Democratic hopefuls Howard Dean, John Edwards, and John Kerry each
admitted they'd used marijuana in the past, in response to an e-mailed
question posed to the candidates. But those confessions don't
necessarily reflect any progressive political positions regarding
either medical marijuana or decriminalization. Only Kerry has spoken
publicly in favor of medical marijuana for seriously ill patients.

As governor of Vermont, in 2002 Dean successfully opposed the passage
of a law to legalize medical marijuana for qualified patients.

And according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws, Edwards has said it would be "irresponsible" to ask the U.S.
Department of Justice to cease arresting medical marijuana patients
using the drug in compliance with state laws.

Conversely, Democratic candidate Dennis Kucinich said during the
debate that although he'd never actually tried marijuana, if elected
president, he'd seek decriminalization. Candidates Wesley Clark, Al
Sharpton, and Joe Lieberman denied ever having tried a toke; Carol
Moseley-Braun declined to answer the question.

NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup notes that Dean, Kerry, and
Edwards are examples of folks who have smoked pot and lead successful
lives. "The real question is not whether a candidate has smoked
marijuana -- nearly half of the adult population ... admit that they
have," he said, "but whether or not that candidate believes that
otherwise law-abiding Americans should be arrested and jailed for
engaging in the same behavior that they once did."

In other drug news, UT social work professor Lori Holleran has
received a $622,465 Mentored Award from the National Institute on Drug
Abuse to get further training and continue research on acculturation
and drug prevention programs for minority youth.

According to UT's press release, half of the funding will allow
Holleran to receive "mentored training" from adolescent drug abuse
experts; half will go to fund Holleran's research -- including the
development of "prevention intervention" that addresses the needs of
Mexican-American youth. "I am convinced that prevention is the way to
go because it is better to intervene before serious problems arise,
and treatment interventions tend to have limited success," she said.
More research regarding the efficacy of prevention programs is needed,
she said, specifically among high-risk youth outside of school
settings. "There are just too many young people falling through the
cracks."