DRUG CZAR CALLS SEATTLE POT INITIATIVE A 'CON'

White House drug czar John Walters yesterday condemned a Seattle
ballot initiative aimed at making marijuana possession the lowest
law-enforcement priority, calling it a "con" and a "silly and
irresponsible game."

In Seattle yesterday and today to meet with local officials involved
with drug treatment, law enforcement and homeland security, Walters
talked of the dangers of marijuana, of increased pot use among
teenagers and what he views as society's too-frequent attempts to
forgive and condone.

The initiative on Tuesday's ballot, he said, is "designed to send a
message that marijuana is a trivial matter."

Backers are promoting Initiative 75 as a way to save limited
law-enforcement money for crimes more serious than marijuana
possession. The initiative would not decriminalize marijuana.

I-75's call for making possession the "lowest law-enforcement
priority," with no specific direction on how to do that, would change
little about what police do on the street, critics say. Possession of
40 grams or less is a misdemeanor and police and prosecutors spend
little time pursuing such cases, according to City Attorney Tom Carr
and Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, two of the most public critics of
the measure.

Walters' visit, less than a week before the election, represents what
has become almost reflex in the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy - to go to communities considering easing up on
marijuana laws, and come down hard.

Last year in Arizona, Nevada and Ohio, Walters made election-time
visits to argue against loosening of marijuana laws. He was criticized
for using taxpayer money to campaign against local initiatives and for
not filing campaign-disclosure forms.

Dominic Holden, a leader in the I-75 campaign, called Walters' visit a
"federal intrusion" and an attempt to scare people about marijuana.

Walters maintains that speaking out against drugs is his job, and
yesterday he painted the government as the underdog in getting the
word out in these local campaigns.

He said he was being forced to fight "big, big money," from people
such as the owner of Ohio-based Progressive Auto Insurance, Peter
Lewis, who has donated $40,000 to I-75.

"The money here (in the pro-I-75 campaign) is a drop in the bucket,"
Holden said, "compared to the White House's swimming pool."