POT USE IS PRESCRIPTION FOR DISASTER

The Nov. 11 Clark County section carried a trio of articles inextricably
tied together.

First we have Greg Herrington's Political Notebook, "Clark County
Republican activists get 'guns and Bible label." It was about how upset the
Democrats in Washington state are that the state's Republicans had bused
volunteers in from other communities to try to influence votes in Snomish
County.

This was particularly interesting because a couple of years ago the
Democrats were almost unanimous in supporting an initiative to medicalize
marijuana, an initiative that was cooked up by California legalizers, toted
around the state by California signature gatherers and paid for by
billionaire George Soros and his cohorts, none of whom were citizens of
Washington state. That's a far more egregious foul than citizens of one
state county politicking in another.

Then their is the farewell piece, "Merriest prankster dies," about Ken
Kesey who "went 28 years before publishing his third major novel." It
appears that during those wasted years Kesey was so zonked out out on LSD,
marijuana and whatever else he was using that his ability to write was
severely impaired. Marijuana is especially hard on the immune system, so
perhaps Kesey's risky behavior played a role in his illness; it certainly
couldn't have helped, unless masking symptoms counts. And, of course,
society is supposed to believe that masking symptoms by smoking dope is
good medicine simply because the media keeps parroting drug culture
propaganda that says it is.

Last in this trio, there was David Broder's column, "DEA's effort against
medical pot is misplaced." The only thing misplaced is Broder's sense of
true compassion for the sick individuals who have been duped into believing
that it is good medicine for doctors to suggest that they smoke pot. Even
in liberal Canada, the physicians are balking at such a lame-brained idea.

The truth is the feds should have made the move to stop the pot clinics in
1996 when California passed its "medical pot" initiative, legislation that
continues to be in violation of federal anti-drug laws and international
treaties and flouts Federal Drug Administration regulations, Soros and his
friends used their wealth to pay for a media blitz that relied on innuendo
and misinformation to seduce Californians into passing this illegal
action. Then, their seasoned petition signature gatherers marched into
Oregon and Washington.

Laxity Toward Enforcement

Cheered on by the media, and with the Drug Enforcement Administration
fettered by the Clinton administration's laxity toward drug enforcement,
legalizers moved like locusts into other vulnerable states, with
predictable results: Marijuana use has proliferated; growing operations
operate in the open; pot doctors indiscriminately hand out marijuana
recommendations, even to children; and pot advocates are even more audacious.

Never mind that marijuana use is a major cause of drug-related emergency
room episodes. Never mind that marijuana users are 80 times more likely to
use heroin and cocaine, the drugs that support international terrorists
activities. The goal of medical pot advocates is not compassion; it is
expanding the opportunity to use psycho- active and addictive drugs without
fear of legal or social consequences.

Enforcing federal anti-drug laws must be seen as part of our ongoing effort
to keep drugs out of the hands of children and part of America's war
against terrorism. Now is none to soon to get serious.

Bravo to Asa Hutchinson, head of the DEA, for finally taking the bull by
the horns and putting a stop to illegal trafficking in marijuana,
reguardless of how that trafficking has been disguised.

Sandra S. Bennett is director of Northwest Center for Health and Safety in
Portland, and a board member of Educating Vocies Inc. and an advisory board
member of Security on Campus Inc. She lives in La Center, Washington.