The most recent revelation comes from The Nation magazine, which reported that Wanda Palacio, who broke with Colombia's Mendellin cartel to become an informant for the FBI, had tried to inform the Kerry Commission about her suspicions of CIA-Contra drug-running but was met with indifference. Nevertheless, he passed along the testimony to William Weld, then assistant attorney general for criminal affairs in Reagan's Justice Department. Weld showed no more interest in the matter than Kerry, referring at the time to ``bum agents'' who may have been responsible. Voters deserve to know the truth about the the part Kerry and Weld played (or failed to play) in the investigation of the Iran-Contra affair. MICHAEL SUSSMAN San Francisco [end]
Trafficking in illegal drugs often seems to defy basic economic principles. When the authorities seize a trove of heroin, cocaine or marijuana, logic would dictate a predictable effect: a shortage of supply that, given constant demand, should drive up prices, perhaps beyond the reach of some prospective customers. Yet even after many sizeable, well-publicized seizures, the street price seldom changes. Sometimes, it even drops. Law-enforcement officials, who intercepted nearly 100 tons of drugs in the United States last year, argue that seizures produce other benefits. Without them, the officials say, traffickers would grow more brazen; drugs would become so plentiful that many more people, including teen-agers and younger children, would be tempted to try them. [continues 828 words]
Opponents have tried to associate the initiative with criminality, hoping to spur the media into mindless sensationalism. But the press and the people of California are responding sensibly to the earnest and passionate sick people who say they need this medicine. Michael Sussman [end]
With all due respect to the CNOA, I would like to point out that teenagers already have access. In fact, the only people without access to cannabis are the adult patients who need it to live and the doctors who want to study its medicinal value. Californians will die in 1997 from not having medicinal cannabis. Yet there are no deaths (meaning zero-zilch-nada-none) from using marijuana in all of recorded history. And it will have taken a Governor and an Attorney-General to do to these patients what marijuana won't: kill them. fire [end]
If the Drug Use Forecasting program and The Oregonian are going to cite such statistics, they should also note the percentages of people arrested on drug charges. According to official records reported every Thursday in The Oregonian, more than 55 percent of all felons sentenced to jail or prison by Multnomah County courts so far in 1996 have been controlled-substance offenders. It would not be surprising if 15 percent of all arrestees tested positive for meth in 1995 because 15 percent of all arrestees were busted for meth. Nor should it be surprising if 65 percent to 68 percent of all arrestees tested positive for illegal drugs if about the same proportion of people were arrested for them. There *is* a correlation between illegal drugs and crime: The more we pit limited resources against the laws of supply and demand, the fewer resources we have to fight real criminals who steal from or use violence against others. Phil Smith Northeast Portland [end]
I am writing in response to an editorial in your October 3 edition which spoke against Prop. 215. Opponents of this measure state that it will provide a loophole for drug dealers or anyone who wishes to grow marijuana. That is false. The measure would not legalize sale or even free distribution. Both of these things would still remain illegal. It would also not allow anyone arrested for possession to simply say that their doctor said it was o.k. and then walk away. That person and their doctor would have to swear under oath that a prescription was given. What Prop. 215 would do is allow someone with a prescription to grow (because even distribution by a doctor would be illegal) marijuana for medicinal use. Plain and simple. [continues 112 words]
If someone is killed from an overdose of hashish it will be the first death attributed to hashish overdose since the first written account of cannabis use, circa 3000 B.C. In animal studies in the 1970s, a lethal oral dose of cannabis was not attainable in monkeys and dogs. Enormous dose levels were administered - levels equivalent to a 154-pound human eating approximately 46 pounds of marijuana or 10 pounds of hashish at one time. Evidence from animal and human studies indicate that the ratio of lethal dose to effective dose is much more favorable than that of many other common drugs including alcohol and barbiturates. [continues 54 words]
Studies show that talking with one's kids reduces their chances of using drugs, but Taft must learn a bit more about the drug problem before educating the public. First, she suggests that even occasionally using illicit drugs sends the message that "my priority is drugs, not you." Why doesn't this apply to legal drug use as well? Apparently, as she says, "Children can understand and accept that there are differences between what adults may do legally and what is appropriate and legal for children." [continues 170 words]
Some people argue that it will be too easy for a doctor to recommend marijuana for their patient's ills. Do these people realize that other illegal substances such as cocaine and opiates are already regularly prescribed by doctors...often to pregnant women? If we can trust doctors to responsibly prescribe these drugs, why not marijauana? Pete Wilson vetoed 2 previous medical marijana bills which were passed by a majority in both the CA house and senate. Luckily our state allows us to override unjust politics through the initiative process. Proposition 215 is the citizen's last resort. fire [end]
In just a few panels, the strip very clearly made the following three points: (1) marijuana is a useful medicine for cancer, AIDS, and other ailments; (2) patients are being arrested for using it -- even those with a doctor's written recommendation; and (3) California voters can protect these patients from prosecution by passing the medicinal marijuana voter referendum, Proposition 215, on Nov. 5. Medical access to marijuana is widely supported by doctors, patients, and the vast majority of voters. Yet law-enforcement officials, from California Attorney General Dan Lungren to President Clinton's Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey, are actively campaigning against the California initiative. Is their "drug war" so sacred that patients must be sacrificed? Their heartless response is finally exposing their true colors to the American people. Glenn Lingle Santa Monica [end]
When a drug undergoes clinical trials and is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, a specific use for the drug is stated. However, physicians are not prohibited from prescribing for "off-label" indications. Witness Rogaine, which originally was approved as an anti-hypertensive drug. Hair growth was, at first, just a "side-effect." If any physician is not prepared to accept and execute this responsibility with all due diligence, for any and all drugs, let that physician voluntarily retire or be stripped of medical licensure. Sincerely, Lynn Carol [end]
Perhaps these two historic initiatives will now give our federal legislars the courage to do what needs to create a method whereby desperately ill Americans can try marijuana under controlled medical supervision, when the patient and doctor agree that nothing else works and it's worth giving it a try. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin is in a unique position to lobby for such changes in his role as ranking Democrat on the Senate subcommittee that oversees the budget of the National Institutes on Drug Abuse, the federal agency that now supplies a total of only eight Americans with a half pound of federally grown marijuana monthly. The program is a disgrace; it arbitrarily denies the same protection to all others by refusing to accept any new applicants, regardless of their medical need. Carl E. Olsen Iowans for Medical Marijuana [end]
It is 1933. More and more people are calling for repeal of the 18th Amendment, which imposed Prohibition, because it has caused crime and corruption. But Robert H. Silberling, a prosecutor who is a leading enforcer of Prohibition, disagrees. The critics do not really claim that legalizing alcohol will solve the problem, he says; they just want to ``surrender.'' ``How can anyone concede to an enemy that has ravaged our cities, debilitated our work force and imperiled our way of life?'' Silberling asks. ``Efforts among all levels of law enforcement must be coordinated.'' [continues 653 words]
This valuable medicine was taken from us in 1937 in a convoluted bill masked as a tax act. The American Medical Association opposed it strongly in brief sub-committee hearings. Only two questions were asked on the House floor: "What is this bill about?" The answer given by speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn, "I don't know -- it's about something called marijuana -- I think it's a narcotic or something." And, "What is the AMA's position?" The answer given by one of the sub-committee members [who later became a Supreme Court Justice] was, "They're behind us 100 percent." [continues 62 words]
Doesn't he know that we humans try to laugh when confronted with pain and suffering caused by stupidity and the insanity of doing the same thing, year after year, and expecting a better result? Your writer shouldn't worry if his children understand the joke because it's too late to keep them shielded from the truth. Gerald M. Sutliff, Walnut Creek, Calif. [end]
Mr. Rosenthal's article is outrageous yellow journalism meant to distort, confuse, and inflame. He and those of his ilk would like to quash all discussion by those opposed to his kind of flawed thinking. How dare Mr. Rosenthal compare the money donated for advertising of Propositions 215 in California and Proposition 200 in Arizona to illegal "drug money"? Does he not know the difference? Does he really believe that there is some kind of conspiracy by Mr. Soros and others? Is he really serious in asserting that there is no legitimate interest or support from professional medical groups and individuals? Does he really believe that those who are questioning our current policies want drugs to flow freely to our children? Does he really think that the citizens of California and Arizona are stupid? [continues 162 words]
Many Canadians may well be shocked at David Malmo-Levine's moxy in challenging Canada's marijuana laws. Perhaps he is only openly acknowledging the reality of marijuana use in Canada. Maybe it's time to face reality with respect to marijuana consumption and entertain the idea of legalizing cannabis. Sincerely, Carey Ker [end]
Rep. Jeff Lamberti says that the medical community is not asking for prescription marijuana. Perhaps he is unaware of the millions of dollars being spent by the pharmaceutical companies to keep marijuana illegal, because they can't make a profit from it. Perhaps, too, he is unaware of their enormous influence. Pharmaceutical companies, in league with alcohol and tobacco companies, are the top contributors to political parties, as well as major financial backers behind the Partnership for a Drug Free America. [continues 131 words]
Shame on both the South Shore Record and Nassau Herald for their hysterical, sensationalistic coverage of teen attendance at rave parties. Both articles missed the real story; the vast majority of teen drug abuse involves alcohol and tobacco right here in the Five Towns, not exotic drugs in the demonized haunts of New York City. These articles mention every illicit drug under the sun. But given that the most popular activity at raves is dancing, I rather doubt that depressants like heroin and Rohypnol are widely used. [continues 314 words]
"Cannabis causes baldness" was what was recently stated in your publication by a doctor. I find it hard to believe that a doctor was lacking in knowledge to such a degree that he does not know that baldness is genetic, and has nothing whatsoever to do with cannabis. Otherwise, all Rastafarians would be bald, instead they usually have long hair with dreadlocks. Yours truly, Hugh Robertson [end]
Reading Doonesbury lately about the marijuana for medical use leaves me caught between tears and laughter. This valuable medicine was taken from us in 1937 in a convoluted bill masked as a tax act. The American Medical Association opposed it strongly in brief sub-committee hearings. Only two questions were asked on the House floor: "What is this bill about?" The answer given by speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn, "I don't know -- it's about something called marijuana -- I think it's a narcotic or something." [continues 89 words]
I was particularly intrigued by U.S. attorney Knauss' comment indicating the problem is made worse by hiring agents locally. It seems when the Good Guys and Bad Guys went to Kindergarten together, the net loser is Good, at least in enforcing prohibition laws. Mr. Knauss suggests bringing in agents from far away so they will feel less empathy for the people they protect. This is an excellent idea. There are lots of incorruptible Russian soldiers who are looking for jobs right now. Perhaps President Boris Yeltsin can be cajoled into sending a couple million troops to Texas to protect us Americans from ourselves. Bob Ramsey, IRVING [end]
The drug war that people love so well espouses all of the evil principles condemned in the Bible. Lies, perversion of justice, fraud, blood money for perjured testimony, murder. Do you realize that the character in the Bible who most resembles a narc is Judas Iscariot, the liar and thief who snitched on Jesus? Jesus would recognize drug court justice instantly because he got the same kind of trial dragged away in the middle of the night, lying witnesses, false charges and a quick conviction. [continues 272 words]
MY LAST exposure to the American presidential contest, on the eve of my isolation for two trans-Siberian weeks, focused on Bob Dole and the drug question. President Clinton, by his standards, has been deafeningly mute on the question because, indeed, he did reduce the anti-drug staff from 146 to 25, and he has not devoted much time to hectoring the country on the dangers of drug use. Even so, one sighs with despondency at the analytical futility of Dole's call to mobilize to fight drugs. Not because drugs are less than what they are, agents of the destruction of many of their users and all of their abusers, and catalysts of family breakdowns and, of course, crime. But because attempted correlations between money spent enforcing the drug laws and the diminution in their use is a profitless enterprise. [continues 668 words]
The words attributed to "McLung JA in the Court of Appeal" contained the statement that most Canadians are "concerned with the contagion of serious crime and social devastation directly traceable to the heroin trade." This is a misleading miscellany of errors and demagoguery. 1. There is no evidence that ingesting heroin induces a person to commit crimes. 2. The crime that some heroin users perpetuate is a direct result of the price of heroin being forced sky-high because its use is prohibited by law. Users are forced to steal and commit other crimes in order to be able to pay those high prices. End prohibition, the cost of heroin tumbles, the crime ceases. 3. Since when is "social devastation" against the law? Many Ontario residents may consider that Mike Harris's government is wreaking social devastation on Ontario by cutting costs. Will "McLung JA" have Ontarians call 911 and have the premier hauled off to jail? Alan Randell Victoria. [end]
Despite the chorus of drug war hawks, including California Attorney General Dan Lungren's prophesies of outright anarchy, voters decided there was no sense in arresting patients who believe marijuana helps relieve their condition, or their doctors. Between this and Californians' rejection of a prison bond proposition, it appears our zest for incarceration may be waning. Arizona approved an even broader drug reform initiative. Despite the huffings and puffings of Gov. Fife Symington, who threatens an unprecedented veto of a citizen initiative approved by a 30-point margin, it appears that Arizona will be "medicalizing" its drug policy. Most nonviolent drug possession convicts will be sent to drug treatment rather than prison. Money Raved will be spent on youth drug education projects. On a national level, Bob Dole discovered that drug war hoopla failed to rouse the electorate. Polls taken in the heat of Dole's "Just don't do it" blitz registered surprising indifference among voters. [continues 73 words]
Could it be that timber-owning newspaper magnates such as Hearst had something to do with it? Nah, skip consipiracy theories. Get to the facts: Fact: Hemp grows four times the pulp per acre compared to trees over a 20-year period, and has the advantage of generating a crop each year. And it grows well in all U.S. climates. Commercial hemp contains such low THC levels that smoking it is like smoking banana peels -- if you're high, it's from hyperventilation. There is no reason to continue to have this valuable and desperately needed crop prohibited by drug laws drawn up in ignorance 60 years ago, and maintained in a losing "drug war" the American government is waging against its own citizens. Keep the paper mills open. Legalize commercial hemp. Ralph Seeley Tacoma [end]
The only medical group to publicly denounce Proposition 215 was the California Medical Association and even it has had a change of heart. "The huge voter support of Prop. 215 is really a mandate to the federal government that marijuana must be studied for any medical benefits," said its president, Jack E. McCleary, M.D. Why should medical marijuana remain confined to the borders of California if it is proven an effective medication for glaucoma, cancer ot the AIDS wasting syndrome among many other illnesses? Alan Bryan Dallas Chapter, Drug Policy Forum of Texas Dallas [end]
The media consistently fails to distinguish the difference between "drug use" and "drug abuse." This leaves the impression that anyone who uses drugs has an abuse problem. Nothing could be further from the truth--only 5% of all people who use drugs ever develop a drug abuse problem. The media talks about alcohol and tobacco as if they are not drugs. Alcohol and tobacco are drugs, and every bit as harmful as illegal drugs. The media does not report the fact teenage use of legal drugs far exceeds teenage use of illegal drugs. [continues 223 words]
A new lie on the marijuana front: "Today's marijuana is deadly!" A new slogan: "Save our kids!" These have come out in response to voters in California and Arizona restoring marijuana as medicine. Of course, the drug czar and his legion's call those voters suckers and vow to block the will of the people. I have known many criminals over the years - moral, intelligent, successful people who happen to use marijuana sometimes. Many of them are professionals. I have seen marijuana prolong the lives of AIDS sufferers. In 1938, a government expert on marijuana testified at a trial in which two women got away with murder by using a marijuana insanity defense. The expert admitted trying marijuana once, saying, "After two puffs on a marijuana cigarette, I was turned into a bat." Then he testified that he flew around the room for 15 minutes, landing at last at the bottom of a 20-foot-high inkwell. The next day, Oct. 12,1938, the headlines of the Newark Star Ledger read, "Killer drug turns doctor to bat!" [continues 51 words]
Thank you for your Dec. 4 affirmation on the need and the efficacy of needle exchanges. This politically divisive issue needs to be discussed more often, especially in New Jersey, where we have the highest rate of HIV transmission via needle injection. Your opinion on this issue does not stand alone. In January, an open letter was sent to Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala from Dr. Peter Lurie of the University of California at San Francisco. Lurie is a world-renowned figure in AIDS and public-health studies. The letter sharply criticized Shalala's mischaracterization of needle-exchange studies, and was signed by more than 30 public-health researchers and practitioners from around the world. [continues 77 words]
As a law enforcement office, it is hardly surprising that Lungren's nose is still a bit out of joint over the passage of Proposition 215. However, it is time for him to grow up (if he needs therapy, he should seek it out) and start doing his job by sending a clear message to the federal government to stay out of California's medical marijuana program. You state correctly that Lungrens opposes drug abuse. Who doesn't? As a result of the passage of Proposition 215, use of marijuana is not longer by definition "drug abuse." He needs to accept that and get busy consulting with doctors and other treatment professionals, including marijuana treatment advocates, to work out the details. Gerald M. Sutliff Walnut Creek, CA [end]
Webster, like ex-drug czar William Bennett, has this incredible arrogance and-self-appointed medical authority and claims to know what form of medicine would benefit sick people. Marijuana is not even a narcotic but has a Schedule 1 rating which, until now, has prevented scientists from studying the plant's medical applications. Apparently, 5,000 years of use and countless personal testimonies, coupled with no reported deaths, had some bearing on the passage of these propositions. Even the government grows and supplies marijuana cigarettes to about a half- dozen sick people in the United States. [continues 71 words]
It is time to put the drug warriors out of business. Michael F. Marion Marysville, Wash. [end]
Last week the Council exploded in opposition to the call for an approach to the legalization of drugs made by seven writers (myself included) in this journal. To the title of the symposium -- "The War on Drugs Is Lost'' -- the Council replies that that is most certainly not so. To the end of proving this, it cites the reduction of drug use by non-addicts. It declined by 50 per cent between 1979 and 1992. The planted axiom of course is that that decline is owing to the war on drugs. But what is it that accounts for the decline in the number of users of tobacco during the same period, from 33.5 million to 26.5 million? The use of tobacco is not illegal. But since 1979, and beginning even before that, the deleterious effect of cigarettes was so persuasively argued that even William Bennett gave up smoking. [continues 704 words]
Zero tolerance would be fine for robots. When it comes to humans, such absolutes reek of failure. Just like the war on drugs. All the billions of dollars wasted, all the arrests and property confiscations, all the criminals walking free so non-criminals can be locked up. This war is a miserable failure at best. It has become a war on our humanity. More and more people are realizing we need to get smart about drugs or the prohibitionists' dreams of an America of robots will come true. Medical use of marijuana has been re-established by voters in California and Arizona. But this very moment, the feds are scrambling to quash this will of the people, calling it a national tragedy. [continues 89 words]
Webster sneers that people might use marijuana for reduction of stress. For that matter, women right use it for relief of menstrual cramps and depression. So what? Is it worse than Prozac? Webster inadvertently pointed to the influence of pharmaceutical companies in keeping marijuana illegal. If a patient can grow a plant in her back yard that relieves pain and suffering, the big drug-pushing companies could lose a lucrative market. The benefits of advanced drugs shouldn't negate the virtues of home remedies used for centuries. I may not run out to "peel a cascara tree and chew a fistful of bark," but whenever I get a cold, I do make a pot of licorice root and peppermint tea. This unscientific therapy usually clears up my sore throat within a day, without my having to rush to the store to buy a bottle of sugar-enhanced, artificially colored and flavored cough medicine. Sugar, even penicillin, often weakens the immune system, as can marijuana. [continues 59 words]
In arguing that television ads supporting medical marijuana were "emotional", the Senate Judiciary Committee ignores the fact that virtually all of the political ads on television were emotional. The one print ad I saw for Proposition 215 accurately restated what was in the ballot question and listed endorsements. I knew quite well what I was voting for. Nevertheless, I do feel bamboozled - by elected officials who are supposed to respect the Constitution and the will of the people yet simultaneously attempt to subvert the 10th Amendment and the affirmative vote on two state propositions. Lynn Carol, San Diego [end]
Then, the next day, the headlines read: "Drug dogs free to stick nose in Montville High." We were treated to numerous quotes from county and school officials congratulating one another on how they've chipped away at another of our constitutional freedoms. Reporter Brian Murray notes, correctly, that "20 years ago, the mere mention of such a search in a suburban New Jersey school would have ignited some heated debate on teen privacy rights." But that was before we became accustomed to the government systematically curtailing and then denying freedoms once guaranteed to all Americans. At a few of the eastbound Delaware River crossings are signs that say "Welcome to New Jersey - The First State to Ratify the Bill of Rights." At the rate we're going, we might yet become the first state to completely dismantle that precious but beleaguered document. Pat Leonard, Randolph [end]
While voters heard the urgings of the drug war hawks, in the end they were persuaded by common sense and personal knowledge of patients who had been helped by marijuana, either friends and relatives or through reports they found credible. Mr. Califano needs to come up with a different scenario to explain this defeat; the one he is floating simply won't do. [continues 4 words]
John M. Koons Sayreville, New Jersey [end]
Although alcohol is legal, it can be lethal if you consume too much. It also causes many health problems that may result in death. Marijuana consumption has not been responsible for even one death in recorded history. Alcohol consumption can cause blackouts and who knows what could happen to our children when they are drunk. Marijuana consumption can cause someone to become high, and giddy, may even cause someone to become sleepy, but there is never a time when a person high on marijuana will be in a condition that she or he doesn't know what's going on. ... [continues 157 words]
Burlington-Edison High School's policy of requiring mandatory drug testing for students wishing to participate in extracurricular activities has a terrible hidden price attached to it. It serves to demonstrate to children that their constitutional rights are optional in the eyes of the governing body. Once citizens become accustomed to abandoning their privacy and dignity for the sake of political hysteria, it is not long before even more intrusive measures are seen as justifiable policy. One school in Minnesota has already instituted random locker searchse with drug-sniffing dogs. Can random strip searches be far off? [continues 113 words]
Drug-testing all teens before allowing them to participate in extracurricular activities may cause some kids to stay clean, but it's just as likely to alienate others, perhaps barring them from important healthy interactions. The loss of individual bodily privacy and trust is not a trivial matter. I agree that being proactive is most likely the key. But that doesn't necessitate mandatory drug testing. Stressing education, trust and personal responsibility would go significantly further towards creating healthy and responsible adults. fire Woodside, Calif. [end]
Drug testing of teens presents several problems. First, it may keep kids from using marijuana, known to be easily detectable for a long time, and result in them using something far more harmful. Second, the "guilty until you prove yourself innocent" approach generates resentment toward government. Third, false positives ruin peoples' lives. (A "positive" reading on a test that is 95 percent accurate means only that there is a 50-50 chance the person used the drug - but tell that to the bureaucracy that spits out the "reject" slip.) [continues 96 words]
Police Hope to Make Hash of Smuggling The Ministry of Internal Affairs plans to set up a special bureau for combating drug trafficking and production. The Internal Affairs Ministry announcement of an anti-drugs task force comes on the heels of a Feb. 28 report by the United Nations' International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), which states that Poland and the Czech Republic are Central and Eastern Europe's leading producers of synthetic drugs. The INCB examines substance abuse throughout the world based on information from governments with which it cooperates. It says Polish and Czech amphetamines are popular in Scandinavia and Germany. Over the last two years, Polish police have raided six large amphetamine laboratories. [continues 285 words]
It appears that a "horrific monster" is growing in our midst but it is not only the specter of teen drug use. Burlington-Edison High School is requiring mandatory drug testing for any student who wishes to participate in extracurricular activities. This is an abhorrent lesson for our children, teaching them only that their constitutional rights mean nothing. If we truly want to teach our children to resist drugs, then a positive approach is needed. To try to educate by eroding basic American freedoms is a disaster waiting to happen. And one which will happen if we don't reconsider our approach when dealing with the issues of teens and drugs. [continues 80 words]
He wants to do this by taking all the property of accused drug dealers before they have been convicted of any crime. At the same time, he proposes to increase the crowding in our prisons by lengthening jail time for small drug dealers. He also wants the police to be able to use wiretaps without making their case to a judge. Republicans have earned a reputation for prizing smaller government and protection of our liberties. But the Attorney General's Office has other priorities. Don Raichle, Irvington [end]
Regular use appears to be nearly as unhealthy as using tobacco and liquor but is not nearly as addictive. Furthermore, it is not possible to cause death by overdosing. Now I understand why it is necessary to arrest people who grow and-or sell marijuana and put them in jail for decades. However, I am a little confused by the money, honor and respect we accord manufactures and sellers of tobacco and liquor. Is this a logical inconsistency or an illogical consistency? Maybe Gov. Pete Wilson or Attorney General Dan Lungren would explain it all to us confused, bamboozled voters who were fooled into voting for Proposition 215. Gerald M. Sutliff Walnut Creek, CA [end]
Every drug warrior has a vested interest in seeing the drug war dragged out as long as possible. Why? Money. Many Americans are being hoodwinked. But the drug warriors are the ones pulling the wool over our eyes! Let's "just say no" to the drug war and begin to reach for rationality. Glenn Lingle, Santa Monica, Calif. [end]
