NewsHour Extra story on the War Against Drugs

Marijuana and cocaine's affect on the body

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California residents try to legalize possession and use of illicit drugs.
Oct. 31, 2000

NewsHour discussion on President Clinton's policy toward Colombia.
Aug. 30, 2000

The government decides to prosecute doctors who prescribe medical marijuana.
Dec. 30, 1996

Legalizing marijuana.
Nov. 7, 1996

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Drug Enforcement Administration

White House Office of Drug Policy

NORML (National Org. for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)

State Dept. Bureau of International Narcotics

In February, Extra published a story about the U.S. government's war against drugs. Below is an essay written in response by a Extra reader on the government's drug policy.

Does the government lie?

By Eric Van Dussen
Honor, MI

No society can exist if disrespect for its laws is widespread. It is extremely irresponsible for a nation as advanced as ours to continuously allow early release of murderers, rapists and other habitual criminals while nonviolent marijuana consumers are left rotting in prison.

Putting people in jail for this victimless crime causes countless individuals to show total disregard for law enforcement and our judicial system. The hypocrisy of our present law, which falsely classifies marijuana as a narcotic, affects the credibility of our entire drug education program.

Government-funded Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) has been notably ineffective in regards to marijuana use. This is partially due to an exaggeration of the effects of using the drug and partly because the effects of narcotics and marijuana have been compared inaccurately. As a direct result, many persons have developed a conscious or unconscious denial of all dangers associated with marijuana use.

When a D.A.R.E. officer tells a classroom full of children that marijuana is a Schedule 1 narcotic with unpredictable effects, and that it will lead to psychological or physical dependence and possibly even death, how then can we expect them to believe that heroin, which has the same federal classification, is not as equally misrepresented?

It has been observed that any statement frequently repeated in public makes it seem true. When Congress enacted marijuana prohibition it was publicly portrayed as a substance that led to violent criminal behavior, uncontrollable sexual urges and many other unfounded social ills.

After Alcohol Prohibition ended in 1933, funding for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), which is now the Drug Enforcement Administration, was reduced dramatically. The FBN's director, Harry J. Anslinger, then became a leading advocate of Marijuana Prohibition.

In hearings on the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, Anslinger testified before Congress in favor of Marijuana Prohibition by saying: "Marijuana is the most violence causing drug in the history of mankind. Most marijuana smokers are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes."

He was also quoted as saying: "Those who are accustomed to habitual use of the drug are said eventually to develop a delirious rage after its administration during which they are temporarily, at least,irresponsible and prone to commit violent crimes. One man has no reaction at all; the next may go berserk and try to stab somebody or harm himself."

There are many people who believe these claims are true. Billions of our tax dollars are wasted each year investigating, arresting, convicting, and imprisoning these otherwise law-abiding citizens. Billions more are spent misleading the public with over exaggerated, deceptive advertising.

Many informed citizens don't believe the war on drugs is very effective in ending the demand for drugs. Marijuana does not cause harm to most individual users and its impact on society does not justify a social policy designed to seek out and firmly punish those who use it.

Our current policies make punishing drug offenders more important than getting them off drugs. Treatment for addiction is seldom the result of a drug conviction. Putting addicts in jail alongside seasoned criminals almost certainly assures future, possibly violent, criminal acts upon release.

The law should assist, not impede, and logic and truth must be the foundation of determining which course of action to follow.

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