Pubdate: Thu, 16 Nov 2000
Source: The Press of Atlantic City (NJ)
Copyright: 2000 South Jersey Publishing Co.
Contact:  11 Devins Lane, Pleasantville NJ 08232
Website: http://www.pressplus.com/
Author: Dr. Steven Fenichel
Note: Dr. Fenichel practices in Absecon & is a member of Physicians for 
Social Responsibility.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN

What it means to be an American is a question that needs contemplation by 
all of its citizens.

The dream of America is becoming trivialized by the harsh reality.

Everything comes down to money, and the more you have, the greater your 
influence - from the White House to the Statehouse and everything in between.

Children are taught that America is a land of freedom where people may 
pursue life, liberty and happiness.

How does this myth square with the reality that America incarcerates more 
people per capita than any nation in the world?

Another myth: America is a land of religious freedom and tolerance.

 From different religious traditions emerges a rich tapestry of different 
moral values. If an individual chooses to live by a certain set of moral 
values that doesn't physically harm another's property or person, that is 
his or her right. However, if a group imposes its religious/moral values on 
people not sharing these values, the results are clearly seen through 
history: the Holy Crusade, the Inquisition, the Salem witch trials, Nazi 
Germany and America's Drug War.

The big myth used in all morality crusades: Law enforcement is to protect 
people from being harmed by others.

Reality shows the vast majority of police resources are used not in 
protecting the individual from others, but from themselves. Seventy percent 
of our prison population - nearly 1.5 million people - are there for 
consensual acts that should never have been criminalized.

America's obsession since the disintegration of Russia's evil empire is 
illegal drugs.

The private nature of selling and using drugs has led law enforcement to 
resort to methods of detection and surveillance that intrude on our 
privacy, including illegal search, eavesdropping, entrapment, etc. The myth 
of the Constitution and its Bill of Rights protections comes up hard 
against the reality of criminalizing consensual acts. Successful 
prosecution of these cases often requires police infringement of 
constitutional protections that safeguard individual privacy.

Indeed, as Orson Welles stated: Only in a police state, is the job of a 
policeman easy.

As a physician, I have a front-row seat on this drug war. I personally know 
patients with chronic pain, muscle spasms, seizures, nausea, vomiting and 
appetite loss who get consistent relief from cannabis sativa, or marijuana. 
But it is illegal, and I cannot prescribe this medicine for them. Several 
have spent time in prison, including a 51-year-old women with end-stage 
multiple sclerosis.

This woman and her husband are model citizens, yet this society views them 
as criminal.

On the other hand, I have patients, especially the elderly, who cannot 
afford basic prescriptions. Where is law enforcement in controlling the 
criminal extortion by the pharmaceutical industry?

Recently I telephoned both Atlantic and Cape May County prosecutors to 
challenge them to take part in a public forum in which they could defend 
the drug-war policy they so zealously prosecute.

The drug-sting operation orchestrated by the Cape May County prosecutor, in 
which police arrested people for attempting to buy drugs from them, only 
serves to give the public a false sense of security and political 
grandstanding points for himself.

The Atlantic County prosecutor recently hosted a radio talk show discussing 
the rightness of his drug-warrior ways. Neither man has the courage of his 
convictions to meet in a public forum to truly debate and educate the 
citizens they supposedly serve.

Both prosecutors told me that if there is concern about the law, meet with 
the lawmakers. Assemblymen and state senators have not responded to my many 
phone calls and letters.

Who is taking care of the people?

Andre Gide, a French writer, gives me the best insight to the drug 
warriors: "The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his 
deception, the one who lies with sincerity." They have told themselves so 
many rational lies about their deception, that they deceive even 
themselves. Those who lose track of their hypocrisy, especially who begin 
to consider it virtuous, are the most dangerous hypocrites of all. Alas, 
when it comes to consensual crimes, they are the most prevalent form.
- ---
MAP posted-by: GD