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Prosecutors Enlist in Drug Czar's Anti-Marijuana Campaign -- Will Prioritize Marijuana Cases, Lobby Against Reform
The drug czar's Office of National Drug Control Policy (http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov) has teamed up with the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) as part of its escalating war on marijuana. In letters sent to every prosecutor in the country on November 1, NDAA president Dan Alsobrooks and the drug czar's Deputy Director for State and Local Affairs, Scott Burns, hoisted the battle flag against pot, signaling prosecutors that they should make the prosecution of marijuana crimes a high priority and urging them to fight efforts to reform the drug laws. . . . the push against marijuana brushes right up against the line separating law enforcement from lobbying. While Alsobrooks, in his cover letter, attempted to portray the push as a matter of public safety, he also made it clear that the effort was inspired by attempts to reform the marijuana laws. "Attempts to legalize or criminalize controlled substances, and particularly marijuana, are springing up around the country," Alsobrooks warned: We can, and have stopped their efforts at the national level, but will lose all if the states yield individually." Writing that the drug czar's office had asked NDAA to aid in its battle against marijuana, Alsobrooks urged prosecutors to read Burns' letter containing "important information about marijuana" and to "consider ways that you can bring this message to your communities." . . . "The truth is that marijuana legalization would be a nightmare for America," Burns warned, using suspect numbers to suggest that Dutch coffee shop policies led to a huge increase in teen marijuana use. But as Dr. Peter Reuter has shown in his book, "Drug War Heresies," the increase in Dutch teen marijuana use occurred only a decade after the Dutch began tolerating marijuana sales, when a wave of commercialization swept the coffeehouse industry. And as Reuters pointed out, Dutch teenage use levels remain lower than in the US. . . . The drug czar and his boss, President George W. Bush, are deadly serious as they fight what they fear is a losing battle against reform. They are seeking allies in powerful positions. And they are willing to resort to lies, misinformation, disinformation and distortion to do so. This isn't your father's drug war.

posted by LoZo 8:26 AM