This must take the cake. Worried about Holywood demand, but not about the supply line.......Now, Mr. Powell, you know better than that.....you have read the Hitz report, haven't you?? David Goldman Friday, April 27 4:13 AM SGT Downey's ilk responsible for Colombian drug problem: Powell WASHINGTON, April 26 (AFP) - Wealthy American drug users are a main cause of the cocaine scourge ravaging Colombia and other Latin American countries, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday, pointing the finger directly at celebrities like Robert Downey Jr. Powell, testifying before a congressional panel, said the main reason Andean nations faced difficulties in curtailing the production of narcotics, particularly cocaine, was the huge demand for drugs in the United States. "The real problem in the region is not caused by the region, it is caused by what happens on the streets of New York, the streets of all our other major cities," Powell told a House of Representatives budget subcommittee. "And it is not just a poor kid's problem, a poor kid taking pot on the street corner, it's corporate lawyers, it's actors who over and over and over again continue to use drugs in an unlawful way," he said. Though Powell did not mention the troubled Downey by name, his comment about performers who repeatedly take drugs was a clear reference to the actor who was arrested earlier this week in Los Angeles, in the latest of his ongoing problems with drugs and the law dating back five years. Downey, 36, was arrested early Tuesday by a police officer who saw him in an alley dazed and apparently on drugs. He was issued a citation to appear in court on May 4 before being released and checking himself into a rehabilitation clinic. He already faced an April 30 court hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial on drug charges stemming from a November 25 arrest on felony counts of cocaine and diazepam. Downey was released last August from Corcoran State Prison in Central California, where he had been incarcerated for about a year after violating probation on several drug and weapons arrests dating to 1996. Powell, speaking to the lawmakers about US plans to fund counter-narcotics efforts in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, said the multi-billion dollar program would never be completely effective unless the demand, as demonstrated by his examples, was eliminated. "That's what's causing the problem in Colombia and in the other nations of the Andean region and so we have to not only go after supply and interdiction, we also have to make sure we're dealing with the demand and treatment side of this terrible problem," Powell said. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~> <FONT COLOR="#000099">ClubMom is the first free organization dedicated to rewarding and celebrating Moms! Join today - it's free - and get your chance to win in our $5,000 Family Vacation Sweepstakes! </FONT><A HREF="http://us.click.yahoo.com/Cb4mCA/TFaCAA/tvCFAA/xrOVlB/TM";><B>Click Here!</B></A> ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Please let us stay on topic and be civil. To unsubscribe please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cia-drugs -Home Page- www.cia-drugs.org OM Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
