DRUG WAR PROSECUTOR DEFAMES REFORMERS PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert #285 Tue, 10 Feb 2004 Our last Focus Alert in January was targeted at Ocean County New Jersey Special Prosecutor Terrance Farley and his column in the Ashbury Park Press where he lambastes a retired circuit court judge who called for an end to the drug war. See http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0284.html SP Farley has also logged a fair number of column inches in another New Jersey paper - The Ocean County Observer - during the past year in which he criticizes drug policy reform efforts of any kind. And in rebuttal, the OC Observer has provided a very fair amount of space to letter writers who disagree with Farley's support Prohibition. On Feb 1, Farley let loose with his most venomous attack on drug policy reform ideas with a column length letter in the Observer. In this one, he notes the large amount of criticism his writings have received. He attributes all such criticism to be from 'dope smoking legalizers' and cites several organizations. The voluminous response of rebuttals to Farley's writings in particular is a direct result of his mean spirited attacks on Cheryl Miller in this newspaper for using cannabis as medicine and being public about it - attacks going back over a year. See http://www.mapinc.org/source/Ocean+County+Observer Thanks to newshawk Gary Storck - and to Jim Miller for those letters which the newspaper does not put on line, for providing us with the letter below. And, of course, to all the letter to the editor writers. This drug warrior has been made to look as foolish and mean spirited as he is on the pages of his home town newspaper because you wrote. That's what the Media Awareness Project is all about, in my opinion - empowering activists so that we may win the hearts and minds of the public through the press. Oh, of course all of the PUB LTE writers are not "minions" of any organization - not paid by anyone to write the letters to the editor they write. Nor is their salary dependent upon feeding at the public trough, unlike our SP. Please write a letter to the Ocean County Observer telling them why you disagree with Farley's drug war views. If you match any of the descriptions for people he claims, "...never write to criticize me...", please make note of that as well. Letters should be 200 words or less for best chance of publication. Please note that unlike major newspapers which print only very prompt responses, this newspaper has printed letters sent in many days after the item you are responding to was published. Thanks for your effort and support. 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, email messages, etc.) Please post a copy of your letter or report your action to the sent letter list () if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to if you are not subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit. This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging our impact and effectiveness. Subscribing to the Sent LTE list () will help you to review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing efforts. To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form CONTACT INFO Source: The Ocean County Observer Contact: Pubdate: Sun, 01 Feb 2004 Source: Ocean County Observer (NJ) Section: Page 10, Opinion page Contact: Website: http://www.injersey.com/observer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1212 Author: Terrence P. Farley FARLEY RESPONDS TO HIS NATIONAL CRITICS ON DRUGS For the regular readers of the Observer, it must be apparent that either it has become a national publication or I have become the target of the dope-smoking drug legalizers across the nation. They are represented by groups like the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws, the Drug Policy Alliance, the Ohio Marijuana Party Political Action Committee and others with Web sites that spew out garbage trying to change the minds and mores of our legislators and the general public. Quite frankly, I am pleased and somewhat flattered that these people are so concerned about my articles and presentations that they have their minions from places like Northhampton, Ma., Washington D.C., Green Bay, Wisc., Baton Rogue, La., Denton, Texas and other places take the time to write to the Observer to attack me personally and the facts and studies upon which I rely. One of the recent letters indicated that I have spent my life putting people in jail, neglecting to note that I was a fairly successful criminal defense lawyer for 20 years; they also indicate that I have taken my anti-drug stances because I need to keep my job and make a living, neglecting to note that I left a very lucrative partnership in the largest law firm in the county at the height of my income-producing years, or that I paid more in taxes while in private practice than I made as a prosecutor. It should not surprise anyone that we don't see these letters coming from the families of drug-addicted individuals who have to live with this problem or, worse, have lost a child to drugs. Nor do we hear this type of diatribe from the addicts themselves. In fact, quite to the contrary, we hear them extol the benefits of our actions such as our Drug Court, how it helped them overcome the scourge of addiction to again become productive family members, parents and members of society; all I might add through the coercion of the criminal justice system. I only hope that those pro-legalization forces continue to direct their venom at me while we work with school authorities, prevention specialists, treatment providers and law enforcement officers in an effort to rid our nation of our drug problems rather than making them incredibly worse through legalization, as they propose. Terrence P. Farley First Assistant Prosecutor Director, Ocean County Narcotics Strike Force ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See: Writer's Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/ TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: Please utilize the following URLs http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter writing activists. Prepared by: Stephen Heath, Focus Alert Specialist - Law Enforcement

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