Food for thought on the Drug War. I have long contended that the War was too profitable for warriors on both sides to be easy to stop, despite the incredible dollar and social costs. As Brian Hill rightly (although perhaps exaggeratedly) points out, there is a very clear distinction to be made between (at least) two categories of drugs. In any case, it seems clear that the War does tremendous harm and little if any good. The "guilt by association" of industrial hemp is surely one of the most extraordinary cases of mass hysteria on record, probably explainable only by the numerous interests which have cause to fear this easy-to-grow and amazingly veresatile crop. Caspar Davis Forwarded Messages: ------------------------------------------------------------ MOLLY IVINS Time for new tactics and strategy on drugs By Molly Ivins AUSTIN, TEXAS HEADS UP, TEAM: We're starting to see a major change in the old Zeitgeist on the issue of drugs. This is one of those seismic shifts when the unsayable suddenly becomes sayable, when we notice that the emperor is wearing no clothes. The main problem with the war on drugs -- you've probably noticed -- is that we're losing. We're also seeing the start of a consensus that it's time to try something else. One way you can tell when one of these major shifts is happening is when some of those speaking out are so respected and respectable that they give cover to others who are more conformist. The Lindesmith Centre in New York has marshaled an impeccable set of world citizens behind the simple proposition that the global war on drugs is now causing more harm than drug abuse itself. Among those who signed that declaration are Walter Cronkite, former U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, former Secretary of State George Shultz and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias. There are also several indications that the people are well ahead of the politicians on this one. On Election Day, medicinal-marijuana initiatives passed in Washington state, Alaska, Arizona (second time), Oregon and Nevada -- this despite drug czar Barry McCaffrey and the rest of the drug-war establishment swearing that this was tantamount to legalizing heroin. The people are perfectly capable of deciding that relieving the suffering of the dying is not the same as supporting the Medell(acu)n cartel. Notice, too, that Jesse "the Governor" Ventura, the crackerjack populist surprise in Minnesota, was elected in large part by young people who like his libertarian straight talk on drugs. Of course, our normal politicians are frozen on this issue. Liberals have been drug-baited for so long that they live in terror of the dread accusation "soft on drugs." And the law 'n' order conservatives have been making hay at the polls with this cheap scare stuff for so long that they're hooked on it. Libertarians to the rescue Fortunately, the libertarian wing of the right has made uncommon sense on the issue all along, and even establishment conservatives like William F. Buckley are open to reasonable discussion. There's a real chance here for conservatives to seize an important issue and do major public service at the same time. The liveliest recent polemic on the subject is Mike Gray's book, "Drug Crazy: How We Got Into This Mess and How We Can Get Out of It." Gray has some horrifying reports on how deeply the drug war has corrupted law enforcement across the country. He also makes a strong case that the war on drugs is just as disastrous a failure as was Prohibition, with exactly the same consequences in the growth of enormous criminal empires. However, it may be that debating legalization will simply turn out to be polarizing and futile while it takes the focus off the need to at least reform drug regulation. For starters, we could consider decriminalizing marijuana and rethinking the mandatory minimum sentences that put small-time users in prison for years while leaving major dealers untouched. Fix disparity in sentencing Another idiotic injustice that needs to be addressed immediately is the disparity in sentencing between crack cocaine -- mostly used by inner-city blacks because of its cheap street price -- and the powder cocaine favored by wealthy whites. Same drug, gross inequity in sentencing. In-prison drug-treatment programs make far more sense that the usual litany of more money, more cops, more prisons, longer sentences, etc. Well short of legalization, any fool can see how we could spend anti-drug money more effectively and fairly. That's a mandatory minimum in itself. Our poor frozen political establishment does in fact replicate Prohibition. President Hoover appointed a commission to study Prohibition back in 1929, and after 19 months of labor, the commission reported that it was a disaster area -- and recommended no changes. A columnist known as F.P.A. summarized the finding in doggerel: Prohibition is an awful flop. We like it. It can't stop what it's meant to stop. We like it. It's left a trail of graft and slime. It's filled our land with vice and crime. It don't prohibit worth a dime. Nevertheless, we're for it. Time for new tactics and strategy -- and anyone who says so is not soft on drugs but strong on common sense. Molly Ivins is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. ------------------------------------------------------------ Reply, by Brian Hill: Molly; Thank you so much for your short article on the War on Drugs. When you say that, '[this is one of those seismic shifts when the unsayable suddenly becomes sayable' you are sure hitting the nail on the head! The so-called War on Drugs is just another disguise for controlling and exploiting innocent populations. Pot and the psychedelics like LSD, mushrooms, and peyote are the drugs most feared by the military industrial powers because none of them are addicting, none of them induce competition and violence. Rather they are catalysts for love and reciprocity. The 60s, the Generation of Love, was catalyzed by pot and the psychedelics. The poorly named 'paradigm shift', which should have been called the 'world view shift' because of the volumes of scholarship in anthropology which explain world view, was enlightened by pot and the psychedelics. The world view shift which began in the early 60s and has been growing since is shifting our Western world view from one of competition and exploitation to one of balance and reciprocity. There is no violence because of pot, no one has ever overdosed on pot, no auto accidents are caused because of pot. It is a love and harmonizing substance. I call it a spiritual catalyst like many of the drugs used by tribal peoples for millennia of cultural stability. When it is said that pot and psychedelics are intoxicating it is like early Christians calling tribal religions pagan - ignorance abounds. On the other hand, drugs which are the business of governments, like cocaine, crack, and heroin are addicting, do lead to violence, more police, prisons and oppression. This War on Drugs is really a campaign for the prison industrial complex by the state itself. The hard drugs, the government sponsored drugs, are the bread and butter of oppressive state apparatus. They undermine grass roots movements and fuel the coffers of corruption: Crack is now available on the plaza of San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico; Cocaine and free base dismantled the homegrown pot movement in northern California and Clinton helped Bush with this, the LA ghettos' social unrest was made into a police state war zone by the cocaine that George Bush brought in when he was head of the CIA, body bags full of heroin came back home on Air American planes from Vietnam, the Opium Wars of China helped destroyed the social fabric of China so the Brits could conquer and control. This front of the War on Drugs should really be called the War for Government Sponsored Drugs. There is plenty of evidence to document these statements. Is it finally time to bring out the truth about the drug war - all the truth? Isn't it time to go after the real drug pushers and exonerate the Generation(s) of Love? Only a fool could not figure out why alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical industries have been in bed so long with our corrupt governments to sponsor the War on Drugs: If pot is decriminalized alcohol, tobacco and the mind control, dumbing, addicting pharmaceutical drugs will crippled! And, the thousands, e.g., 2500, of ecologically sound products which can be made from hemp would put a serious crimp in many of the traditional exploitative industries like petroleum, agribusiness, paper. Let me end by stating the theme of the San Francisco Industrial Hemp Expo '98 - WAKE UP, AMERICA! Thank you Molly for your timeliness. I hope this helps stir the pot. Brian Hill
