DRUG CZAR PAYS VISIT, OFFICIALS ASK FOR FUNDS

White House drug policy director John Walters visited Marshall County this
week to get a firsthand look at the drug issues facing this area.

He first met privately with local officials involved in the war on drugs.
Then he held a press conference on the Courthouse steps and spoke at a
luncheon at the Senior Center.

District Attorney Steve Marshall said he and other local drug officials
used his visit as an opportunity to lobby for funds for 2 programs they
want to establish, Drug Free Marshall County and Family Drug Court.

The DA's office has applied for grants to get both programs going. They're
asking for $85,000 for the Drug Free Community program and $350,000 over 3
years for the Family Drug Court.

Mr. Marshall said Mr. Walters didn't say much in the private meeting, but
mostly listened to concerns from the local officials.

During his press conference Mr. Walters said it was important for federal
officials to meet and talk to local officials about their problems so
federal programs could be designed to accommodate local needs.

He said he'd met with one recovering addict from Marshall County drug court
during the private session.

"He told me the day he got arrested was the luckiest day of his life." Mr.
Walters said. "It forced him to accept responsibility and it gave him the
help he needed through the drug court program to get his life turned
around. He said he might not be alive today if he hadn't gotten arrested."

Walters said it's important for law enforcement to make arrests and reduce
the supply of drugs available. But he also stressed that the only way to
reduce the demand is to provide help for people who are addicted.

He said it's critical to keep young people from experimenting with drugs
during their teen years. He said studies have shown that young people who
don't experiment as teens typically don't begin using drugs as adults,
while those who do experiment have a much greater chance of becoming
addicts later.

"We have to protect our children from this poison". He said

He talked about the growing problems of crystal meth in rural areas and
spoke about how there are really two problems - imported meth from Mexico
and the southwestern United States and homemade meth.

He said the federal government is working with drug manufacturers about
putting inhibitors in their products so cold medicines can't be broken down
to get the ephedrine for making meth.

He said just as important as that is the educational campaign, like the
local Merchants Against Meth program, that asks retailers to report people
purchasing large quantities of cold medicines.

3 FROM MARIJUANA PARTY ATTEND DRUG CZAR'S LUNCH

Three members of the "U.S. Marijuana Party" were among those attending a
luncheon in Guntersville Monday for White House drug policy director John
Walters.

They weren't happy with what Mr. Walters had to say, but they didn't get
the opportunity to voice that directly to him. He didn't take any questions
after making his speech and then quickly left the Senior Center, where the
luncheon was held.

The Marijuana Party advocates legalizing marijuana. Loretta Nall of
Alexander City is the President on the Alabama party and was present along
with Corey Mingo of Huntsville. Rounding out the group was Anita Mayfield,
President of the Mississippi Marijuana Party.

Ms. Nall said she would have liked to have asked Mr. Walters - the nations
"drug czar"- a few questions.

"He didn't have the guts to open the floor for questions" she said. "I'm
pretty sure he knew who I was and knew I was in the audience".

During his remarks, Mr. Walters said he is often questioned by students on
why marijuana isn't legal. He said he felt the question deserved answering.

He talked about the movie "Saving Private Ryan" and the great sacrifices
made by the servicemen during WWII and other wars so that freedom could be
enjoyed in this country.

"The most powerful scene in that movie isn't the slaughter on the Normandy
beaches," he said. "The most powerful scene is when the character played by
Tom Hanks is dying and tells Private Ryan "Deserve This."

He said he usually asks the kids who Private Ryan is "and someone will
usually say that it's us".

He said it's important for kids to realize that the freedom we enjoy is
because someone else made the supreme sacrifice for us.

"We cannot fully repay that debt unless we make the same sacrifice" he said.

"Serious people understand the responsibility of that debt. Your freedom
does not give you the right to demolish yourself with drugs. Responsibility
goes with freedom and we have to pass that heritage on to our children."

He said surveys showed drug use was down among teens for the first time in
years in 2002. He said it struck him that the decline might in part have to
do with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the ensuing events.

"For the first time in their lives kids saw people making sacrifice to
defend our way of life." Mr. Walters said. "They saw people giving their
lives to try to save other people that they didn't even know."

Ms. Nall said it made her sick to see Mr. Walters invoking the D-Day
invasion of Normandy to justify the war on drugs.

"My ancestor's didn't storm the beaches of Normandy so that I would have to
pee in a cup," she said, referring to a urine drug test.

Mr. Mingo said he's a former military sniper and he didn't appreciate it
either. He said he's a responsible citizen , an engineer who pays his taxes
and contributes to society.

"I should not be persecuted and hounded just because I use marijuana," he said.

He said projects he's worked on as an engineer in Huntsville include the
M1A1 tank and various shuttle projects.

Ms. Nall said the Alabama Marijuana Party was founded last November and has
about 80 members across the state.

Ms. Nall plans to run for governor on the Alabama Marijuana Party ticket in
the 2006 elections. The key point in her platform will be legalizing
marijuana and releasing all non-violent drug offenders currently in prisons
around the state.