DRUGS, MONEY AND MORE DRUGS

FEB. 26, 2002 -- On Feb. 12, the day the FBI and Justice Department
announced the highest level of security alert against a possible terrorist
action since Sept. 11, the Drug Enforcement Administration decided to use
dozens of federal agents to raid a medical cannabis dispensary and three
cannabis growers in California. Either the DEA didn't take the terrorist
alert very seriously or it has a remarkably twisted notion of what
constitutes a threat to the American people.

A little-noticed side effect of the push for campaign finance "reform" has
been the rush by both major parties to fill their coffers with as much
"soft money" as they can squeeze out of contributors before the law
changes. The Demopublicans hauled in 50 percent more in 2001 than they did
in 1999, which was the staging year for a presidential election. Expect
even more aggressive fund-raising - or extortion if you prefer - this year.

President Bush announced his "new" drug policy Feb. 12. It reconfigures the
spending - $19 billion at the federal level alone - a bit and promises to
reduce illicit drug use by 25 percent in five years and 10 percent in two
years. How will doing a teeny bit more of the same bring such dramatic
improvements? We haven't a clue. We've heard similar promises countless
times over the years and none has been fulfilled