PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert #220 August 29, 2001 IT'S TIME TO SERIOUSLY REEXAMINE THE DRUG WAR NOTE: This important article was reprinted in more than _29 NEWSPAPERS WORLDWIDE_ Please send your letter to as many of them as possible. For the second time in three days, the Washington Post provided us with a tremendous viewpoint on the serious need for Americans to take a new look at current Drug War policies. Following Aug 24's editorial by the Post editorial board (which resulted in our last Focus Alert #219) criticizing the priorities of federal drug law enforcement, we were treated to an outstanding essay from Post columnist David Broder--A DEBATABLE WAR ON DRUGS--in the Sunday Aug 26 edition. Additionally, with Broder's popularity as a syndicated writer we have to date located 29 newspapers that carried this great column. We invite you to send a letter to the newspaper target closest to your hometown, as well as any others you are inclined to address. Thank the newspaper for including this topic in their viewpoint page and also reinforce one or two points that you found yourself most in agreement with. If you choose to address more than one paper, please make at least a few minor modifications to each submission. Most newspapers would prefer that your letter to them be an exclusive. Most important however, is the paper closest to YOU. This could very well be one of our most successful campaigns ever, so let's do it right and let's do it NOW! A SAMPLE letter follows below as an idea for you, and the 29 outlets which have carried the column to date is below the sample. Thanks for your effort and support. WRITE A LETTER TODAY It's not what others do it's what YOU do PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, Fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the Sent LTE list if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is one of the only ways we have of gauging our impact and effectiveness. URL http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1564/a02.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company Contact: Author: David S. Broder Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?194 (Hutchinson, Asa) A DEBATABLE WAR ON DRUGS The high esteem in which former representative Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas is held by his colleagues was demonstrated by the 98 to 1 Senate vote confirming him last month as the new director of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Even more telling was the fact that Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and an ardent opponent of the impeachment of President Clinton, appeared at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to praise Hutchinson, who had been one of the Republican House managers presenting the case against Clinton to the full Senate. In his 4 1/2 years in the House, Hutchinson, a former U.S. attorney, earned an estimable reputation as a thoughtful conservative and, as such liberals as Conyers and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont affirmed, as a fair-minded advocate. Hutchinson will need all his skills in his new job, for the nation is clearly about to embark on a long-overdue debate on the so-called "war on drugs." The DEA is, as the name implies, primarily a law-enforcement agency, but John Walters, Bush's choice to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, has been in limbo, awaiting a confirmation hearing since May. Many of the same Democrats who welcomed Hutchinson's nomination have argued that Walters's hard-line approach, emphasizing interdiction and incarceration over education and treatment, makes him the wrong choice for "drug czar." At least until Walters's fate is resolved, Hutchinson is in the hot seat on Bush administration policy toward drugs. During the past three decades, the United States has invested billions in fighting the scourge of drugs, and more and more serious people are questioning its effectiveness. The critics range from conservatives such as Bill Buckley and New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson to an array of liberals, and they are having an impact on public opinion. While few agree with the editors of the influential British newspaper the Economist, which last month laid out at length "the case for legalizing drugs," many more are expressing their doubts about current policies. A Pew Research Center survey last February found that three out of four Americans believe "we are losing the drug war," and by a margin of 52 percent to 35 percent they said drug use "should be treated as a disease, not a crime." In a recent issue of the American Prospect magazine, California journalist Peter Schrag pointed to the growing trend in the states, where initiatives allowing medical use of marijuana or mandating treatment rather than jail for drug-users have been winning large public majorities. Hutchinson was dodgy in his confirmation hearing on the question of sending federal agents out to arrest doctors who prescribe marijuana as a pain- and nausea-relieving agent for cancer patients and other seriously ill people, as eight states now allow. The Supreme Court held earlier this year that the feds have that authority. When Hutchinson was asked if he would use it, he said it was something on which he needed to confer with the attorney general, adding that it was important "that we do not send the wrong signal . . . that marijuana use is an acceptable practice." But Hutchinson also applauded a bipartisan bill, crafted by Leahy and the Judiciary Committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, to expand funding of drug treatment programs, especially for prisoners and youths, and to increase the number of drug courts, where judges can order nonviolent drug offenders to undergo treatment and continuing tests, rather than put them in jail. Hutchinson took over his DEA duties last week at the same time the Department of Justice bragged that more people than ever are in federal prison on drug charges and are serving longer sentences. That report showed there were more suspects arrested in 1999 on charges involving marijuana than for powder or crack cocaine. A higher portion of the marijuana suspects who wound up in federal prison were simply users than was the case with any of the hard drugs. That raises obvious questions about the priorities of federal drug enforcement agents and prosecutors. No one seems to know how many people are in state prisons for simple possession of marijuana. But in 1998, those prisons held 236,800 people convicted on drug charges -- 57 percent more than had been there in 1990. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University estimated in 1998 that 70 percent to 85 percent of all state prison inmates - -- not just those convicted on drug charges -- need treatment, but only 13 percent of them get it. The whole "war on drugs" cries out for reexamination. To the Editor Re: David Broder's recent column New DEA chief Asa Hutchinson, national drug czar nominee John Walters and U.S. Attorney General Ashcroft insist that strong criminal sanctions are necessary to deal with America's very real problems of drug abuse. However, after two decades of this approach, we see illegal drug use by minors remains steady, prices of illegal drugs are lower and availability is at an all time high. Meanwhile, as columnist Broder aptly notes, only 13% of those who truly need substance abuse treatment are able to get it, and most of them must first acquire a criminal record before receiving it. The current prohibition of certain drugs is not providing positive results, other than increased employment of drug police, prison guards, probation officers and other drug 'warriors'. In many jurisdictions, criminal drug cases account for a third or more of criminal justice dockets, reducing the overall effectiveness of the court system in general. And nationwide we see valuable tax dollars going into prison construction that should instead be used to improve education for both children and adults. People who are better educated are far less likely to become drug abusers. It is indeed time to make strong, demonstrable changes in national drug law policies. Thanks for the inclusion of David Broder's column in your newspaper. Best regards, Stephen Heath IMPORTANT Always include your address and telephone number Please note If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work. Below is the key information you need to write to as many of the 29 newspapers we have identified as having printed the column as you wish. Please note that it is best to send your letters one at a time to each newspaper as newspapers will not use letters that they know are also sent to others. Pubdate: Sat, 25 Aug 2001 Source: Record, The (CA) Contact: Headline: 'War On Drugs' Cries Out For National Re-Examination URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1579/a06.html Pubdate: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Contact: Headline: Drug Warriors Face Uphill Fight URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1583/a01.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Daily Camera (CO) Contact: Headline: DEA Chief Must Review The Drug War URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1565/a10.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Washington Post (DC) Contact: Headline: A Debatable War On Drugs URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1564/a02.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) Contact: Headline: Mission For DEA's New Director URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1582/a04.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Contact: Headline: Our War On Drugs Needs A Closer Look URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1573/a04.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Quad-City Times (IA) Contact: Headline: New DEA Boss Has Formidable Challenge URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1578/a10.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Herald-Times, The (IN) Contact: Headline: 'War On Drugs' Cries Out For Careful Re-Examination URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1580/a03.html Pubdate: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 Source: Indianapolis Star (IN) Contact: Headline: A Long-Overdue Debate About The 'War On Drugs' URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1585/a09.html Pubdate: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 Source: Evansville Courier & Press (IN) Contact: Headline: Rethinking Drug War URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1583/a06.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Topeka Capital-Journal (KS) Contact: Headline: Have We Met The Enemy In The War On Drugs? Is It US? URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1582/a09.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Wichita Eagle (KS) Contact: Headline: War On Drugs Cries Out For Re-Examination URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1568/a05.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Lawrence Journal-World (KS) Contact: Headline: War On Drugs Needs New Strategy URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1564/a03.html Pubdate: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 Source: Brainerd Daily Dispatch (MN) Contact: Headline: Are We Losing The Drug War? URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1589/a09.html Pubdate: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) Contact: Headline: One Toke Over The Line And Your On The Way To Jail URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1574/a02.html Pubdate: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 Source: News & Observer (NC) Contact: Headline: For DEA's Leader, Food For Thought In Crammed Prisons URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1575/a06.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Daily Gazette (NY) Contact: Headline: Time To Reevaluate War On Drugs URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1572/a10.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH) Contact: Headline: U.S. Drug War Priorities In Need Of Re-Evaluation URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1590/a07.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Oklahoman, The (OK) Contact: Headline: New Debate On 'War On Drugs' URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1590/a08.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Oregonian, The (OR) Contact: Headline: Hutchinson's First Task Should Be To Re-Examine The 'War On Drugs' URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1590/a06.html Pubdate: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 Source: Register-Guard, The (OR) Contact: Headline: The Debate Over The War On Drugs Is Long Overdue URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1584/a03.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: State, The (SC) Contact: Headline: U.S. War On Drugs About To Be Re-Examined URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1566/a02.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Sun News (SC) Contact: Headline: War On Drugs Is In Need Of New Strategy URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1568/a06.html Pubdate: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 Source: Oak Ridger (TN) Contact: Headline: A Needed Debate ON U.S. Drug Policy URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1583/a04.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX) Contact: Headline: Hutchinson Is Handed A Hot Potato Known As The Drug War URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1569/a04.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Seattle Times (WA) Contact: Headline: A Long-Overdue Debate ON The 'War On Drugs' URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1567/a08.html Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 Source: Columbian, The (WA) Contact: Headline: Americans Are Ready To Take Second Look At War On Drugs URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1583/a11.html Pubdate: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 Source: International Herald-Tribune (Europe) Contact: Headline: None Too Soon To Review America's 'War On Drugs' URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1585/a05.html Pubdate: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 Source: Korea Herald (South Korea) Contact: Headline: A Debatable War On Drugs URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1580/a04.html ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts http://www.mapinc.org/resource/ Prepared by Stephen Heath - http://www.drugsense.org/dpffl/ Focus Alert Specialist

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