ALTERNATIVES TO THE DRUG WAR

The Supreme Court has ruled that residents of public housing can be evicted
if anyone in the apartment is caught with drugs. The test case involved
four elderly residents of an Oakland, Calif. public housing project. The
following scenario is now ready to happen on a massive scale.

A person (elderly, disabled, single mother with kids etc) living in a
federally funded housing project who has a relative or guest who gets
caught with a little marijuana is now subject to eviction. There is no
requirement that the person to be evicted had any knowledge of the drug
use. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said "it is not absurd that a local
housing authority may sometimes evict a tenant who had no knowledge of
drug-related activity."

So now we have a situation where it is the responsibility of aged, disabled
people, who have no legal investigative or arrest powers, to stop an
activity that police with guns, badges, arrest and investigative authority
and the backing of the courts have been unable to do. How are these people
supposed to accomplish what the police have been unable to do after 32
years, and hundred of billions of dollars in funding for the "War On Drugs"?

Of course, the total blame for this miscarriage of justice can not be laid
at the feet of the police. However, Congress can be blamed.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, quoting Congress, wrote in the housing
decision that "with drugs leading to murders, muggings, and other forms of
violence against tenants, aggressive eviction policies are reasonable." He
also cited Congress' desire to end "the reign of terror" in public housing.

This "reign of terror" from drugs, and now from public housing authorities,
would not be possible if Congress had not passed these counterproductive
drug laws. Our current drug laws have created a business opportunity for
criminals that has a market and margin of profit that we legitimate
businessmen can only envy. Due to the massive profits from artificially
high prices caused by our prohibition, the drug business draws in ruthless
people who commit all kinds of violent crimes to protect their businesses.
Like any other profitable business, this has drawn in new "businessmen"
which has resulted in an increased supply at a lower price.

According to figures from government sources, in 1981 a gram of pure heroin
cost $2,000. In 1998, the price was down to $400. This is the result of an
increased supply. We have seen the same thing happen with computers and
cell phones.

Additionally, because of the addictive nature of the product, users will do
whatever it takes to obtain the money to buy it. Very few violent crimes
are committed because of the influence of hard drugs like cocaine and
heroin on users. However, the same can't be said when the addict is getting
the money to buy them.

If Congress wishes to end this "reign of terror" it must pass legislation
which de-criminalizes marijuana and puts hard drugs on prescription to addicts.

By doing this we would free up a massive amount of police manpower and
greatly reduce the court caseload. In 2000, there were 734,000 arrests for
marijuana alone. This is total waste of police resources for something so
benign as marijuana.

As for the hard drugs, I would suggest that an addict be allowed to go to a
doctor and be tested to prove addiction. This would allow the doctor to
determine how much of a drug was required to supply the addict for a
24-hour period. The addict could pick up his clean daily supply of the drug
for $5. The addict would be limited to a 24-hour supply that could be
refilled every day. Because the addict only has a 24-hour supply, he would
not share it.

This would have several benefits. First, it would put the drug dealers out
of business because there would no longer be any profit. This would, in
turn, eliminate the source of drugs to create new addicts. It would also
eliminate the need for the addict to commit crimes to support the habit,
thereby making us all safer. It would also end this insane practice of
throwing elderly, sick people and single mothers with their children out of
their homes because they did not enforce the laws that the police have been
unable to.

While I realize that illegal drug abuse is dangerous, the end result of the
abuse of heroin, cocaine or alcohol is the same. Jail time does nothing to
help people overcome alcohol addition. We treat alcoholism as a medical
problem. Why do we treat drug addicts as criminals when drug abuse too is a
medical problem? We don't have doctors arresting people, nor do we have
cops treating illness.

I am asking voters to contact their representatives and ask them to
introduce legislation that will stop this miscarriage of justice. To allow
this travesty of justice to continue is to allow the waste of taxpayers'
money while more innocent victims bear the brunt of this fiasco we call the
"War On Drugs."