Pubdate: Tue, 08 Mar 2005 Source: Times Argus (Barre, VT) Copyright: 2005 Times Argus Contact: http://www.timesargus.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/893 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) JUST SAY NO Late last week, two news stories briefly made headlines in the United States and then quickly seemed to vanish from the daily press reports. Although the stories were only distantly related, they had in common a connection to another story that, it seems, will never go away. The first story, a real shocker, was from a small town in Alberta, Canada. Four members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Mounties in popular parlance - had been slain by a reclusive drug dealer, who then took his own life. The killing of the four Mounties was a story in itself, of course, but the facts surrounding it must not be overlooked. Apparently, there's an increasingly violent $7 billion marijuana trade involving shipments of a drug known as B. C. bud (named for the Canadian province of its origin, British Columbia) through Seattle to American markets and the Alberta dealer, a loner who lived in a trailer that was under surveillance, was part of that trade. Leigh H. Winchell, special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle, which investigates border crimes as part of the Department of Homeland Security, told reporters the police killings demonstrated "how serious the B.C. bud issue is getting, how much money is involved and the lengths to which these criminals are willing to go to protect it." Winchell added that "it's getting worse and worse, and we need to address it at every level. The funding needs to be there, and the resolve of law enforcement to address it needs to be there -- on both sides of the border. It's a very dark day for all of us." According to press reports, drugs are transported inside tractor-trailers, hidden in drums of frozen raspberries, even in shipments of crushed glass, wood chips and sawdust, or in hollowed-out logs and in secret compartments. In addition, kayakers reportedly paddle them south from British Columbia to American destinations where couriers collect them and, carrying up to 100 pounds in their backpacks, hike for hours over the rugged terrain along the border between the two countries. Also, according to press reports, small aircraft have been known to drop them into fields and dairy farms using bags outfitted with avalanche beacons that alert traffickers that the drugs have landed. The second story was a report by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's staff that the production of poppies - the principal source of opium, the raw material for heroin - in Afghanistan has tripled since the Taliban (which banned poppies) was driven out of power there by the American invaders. The report described Afghanistan as being "on the verge of becoming a narcotics state." So, what do we have? One story from a remote corner of Canada and another from far-away Afghanistan, each with one critical element in common: Illicit drugs, a good proportion of which are destined to wind up in the hands of ordinary Americans who think their hands are clean. That's what makes illicit drugs so appealing to those who traffic in them. The potential profits are immense, and the customers' sense of guilt is minimal, if it exists at all. Americans can debate until they're blue in the face whether marijuana ought to be decriminalized or if the long-standing war on drugs is an effective tool in combating the traffic in these illegal commodities. What is clear is this: If Americans stopped buying illegal drugs, other measures would no longer be needed. And fewer cops would be killed. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake