Pubdate: Sun, 26 Nov 2000
Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)
Copyright: 2000 St. Petersburg Times
Contact:  http://www.sptimes.com/
Forum: http://www.sptimes.com/Forums/ubb/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi
Author: John Chase, Palm Harbor

NEW CZAR WON'T HELP

Re: Exiting drug czar fought the war on drugs to no end or reason.

Robyn Blumner told us the depressing truth in this Nov 19th column. General 
McCaffrey did all the things she says he did, but he was only a "good 
soldier" carrying out the orders of a commander in chief who, in turn, 
accepted the prohibitionist orthodoxy of the U.S. Congress. McCaffrey was, 
more than anything else, the propaganda minister of the American drug war. 
When his role required compassion, McCaffrey sympathized; when denial was 
needed, he denied; when distortion was needed, he distorted; and when 
dishonesty was required, he lied.

His central lie was that the drug war is succeeding, that it is the price 
we must all pay to avoid something worse. He dismissed the innovative drug 
policies of Switzerland and the European Union as disasters, when in fact 
the drug statistics of Switzerland and the EU are downright Utopian 
compared to ours. He told us that the "gateway theory" preordained a 
progression from soft drug use to hard drug use, reminiscent of how 
generals of the Vietnam era told us how the "domino theory" preordained the 
spread of Communism from country to country in Southeast Asia.

Anyone who hopes that a new drug czar will move us toward more enlightened 
policy will be disappointed. Congress is the reason we have no solution to 
this social problem. Any drug czar who contradicts Congress will soon be 
looking for different work.
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