'DRUG WAR' OPPONENTS BLAST WHITE HOUSE POLICY

The Libertarian Party ran full-page newspaper advertisements on Tuesday,
criticizing the Bush administration's war on drugs.

Over a full-age photograph of White House drug czar John Walters, the
following message appears: "This week, I (John Walters) had lunch with the
president, testified before Congress, and helped funnel $40 million in
illegal drug money to groups like the Taliban."

According to the advertisement, the war on drugs "boosts the price of drugs
by as much as 17,000 percent - funneling huge profits to terrorist
organizations." The Libertarians insist that anyone who supports the war on
drugs - or votes for politicians who support the war on drugs -- is
therefore helping to support terrorism.

The Libertarian Party calls its advertisement an intentionally provocative
"parody" of the ongoing advertising campaign sponsored by the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The advertisements, which appeared in Tuesday's Washington Times and USA
Today, follow a new push by the Bush administration to crack down on
illegal drug abuse.

'Social Crisis'

Earlier this month, President George W. Bush said he was putting the fight
against drugs "in the center of our national agenda."

He announced a new national drug control strategy based on three core
principles: stopping drug use before it starts; healing America's drug
users; and disrupting the illegal drug market.

The president also set clear goals for his strategy: he wants to reduce the
use of illegal drugs by 10 percent over 2 years, and by 25 percent over 5
years.

As a key element of the plan, his administration aims to reduce public
tolerance for drug abuse. "We've got a problem in this country," Bush
commented two weeks ago. "Too many people use drugs. This is an individual
tragedy, and as a result, it is a social crisis."

The president's proposed budget for fiscal 2003 includes $19.2 billion in
anti-drug spending, 2 percent more than last year's budget.

'Drug Prohibition'

The Libertarian Party is among the groups that believe the war on drugs is
misguided.

"Drug prohibition does more to make Americans unsafe than any other
factor," the Libertarians say. In their opinion, "drug prohibition" fuels
gang violence; inflates the cost of drugs, prompting drug users to steal to
support their habits; and it diverts police from concentrating on more
serious crimes.

According to the Libertarian Party's website, "By ending drug prohibition,
Libertarians would double the resources available for crime prevention and
significantly reduce the number of violent criminals at work in your
neighborhood."

Ad Wars

During the Superbowl, the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy (ONDCP) aired two thirty-second ads targeted at young Americans who
do drugs. One of the ads asked, "Where do terrorists get their money? If
you buy drugs, some of it might come from you."

The ads suggested that money spent on illicit drugs in the United States is
funding terrorist organizations all over the world.

"These Super Bowl ads were Super Bowloney," the Libertarian Party said at
the time.

In a recent press release condemning the Superbowl ads, Steve Dasbach,
executive director of the Libertarian Party, said, "No amount of
advertising spin" can change the fact that "the War on Drugs enriches
terrorists, finances violence and makes America less safe."

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws also blasted the
Superbowl anti-drug ads as misleading and ineffective.

NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup disagreed with the notion that
American drug users are funding terrorists operations with their purchases.
"It is patently absurd to suggest that marijuana smokers are in any way
supporting terrorism," said NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup in
comments made earlier this month.

"The overwhelming majority of marijuana consumed in this country is
domestically grown or imported from Mexico, Jamaica or Canada. It does not
come from or finance terrorist regimes in Afghanistan or other potentially
hostile nations," he said.

"Marijuana smokers are average Americans who work hard, pay taxes, raise
families and want safe communities in which to live," Stroup said. "They
are just as patriotic and supportive of the war on terrorism as other
Americans.