cannabisnews.com: Drug Czar Blasts Legalization 'Lie'





Drug Czar Blasts Legalization 'Lie'
Posted by CN Staff on September 24, 2002 at 07:04:12 PT
By Susan Wright, Staff Writer
Source: News-Journal 
The national drug czar brought his no-holds-barred message here Monday, calling medical marijuana "a lie" and arguments for legalizing the drug as a medicine "selling snake oil." In a whirlwind tour that included stops in Volusia and Flagler counties to talk to teenagers, local law enforcement and drug treatment leaders, John Walters said he and the president are committed to the drug war and opposed to any attempt to legalize drugs for any reason. 
Walters, director of the National Drug Control Policy, said his immediate focus is battling "the lie of medical marijuana." As for campaigns in some states to legalize the drug for treating medical conditions, such as glaucoma and to stop nausea, Walters said, "It's not going to happen, not on my watch. "I'm going into every state where there is a ballot on this," he said, adding "fortunately right now that only includes Arizona, Ohio and Nevada." Voters or legislatures in eight states have approved some form of medicinal marijuana legalization, according to the nonprofit Marijuana Policy Project. At stops at Flagler Palm Coast High School and the Stewart-Marchman Treatment Center in Daytona Beach, he said marijuana use is "out of control," exceeding alcohol as the drug most commonly used by teenagers. He said that while many people view marijuana as harmless, more than 60 percent of the nation's 6 million illegal drug users are dependent on it and it often leads to more serious drugs. At the high school, Walters asked several dozen assembled students how many knew other students who took drugs, and almost all of them raised their hands. At Stewart-Marchman's Residential Addiction Program, he heard from teens who told him that drugs were everywhere. One young boy asked Walters not to give up on the addicts who, he said, have a disease that going to prison doesn't cure. Walters said the young recovering addicts could make a difference by going on to help educate others about the dangers of drugs. At the high school, some students argued for legalization, and Walters countered by calling the proposal "irresponsible." "I personally think you are overdramatizing the problem," said senior Gabe Clifton at the end of a spirited exchange with Walters. Walters countered that Clifton and his friends underestimate the power of drugs. "Is there a single family, is there a single city, is there a single school that is going to be better off with more drugs and alcohol in it?" said Walters, a former college professor. Accompanying Walters on the tour was U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, a member of a congressional subcommittee on drug policy and a co-chairman of the House Speaker's Drug Task Force. Mica said the war on drugs had briefly stalled while Congress delayed confirming Walters' appointment last year. Since Walters' confirmation, Mica said the war is back on track: "He really hit the ground running." Walters' nomination was opposed by many who believe his views are too hardline. Monday, Walters said despite the president's emphasis on the war on terrorism, Bush is still committed to reviving and winning the war on drugs. "It's not peripheral. It's not an add-on. It's at the core of his policy," he said. The federal anti-drug effort is supporting campaigns to crack down on drug suppliers in Mexico and Columbia, he said. While getting rid of the drug trade in those countries is a step toward eliminating drugs, he said the U.S. will have to guard its borders to make sure those drug dealers don't simply move here. "We don't want to just move the problem, we want to eliminate it," Walters said, adding that would take attacking the drug market at both the supply and the demand ends. -- Staff writer Daniel Lathrop contributed to this story. Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL)Author: Susan Wright, Staff WriterPublished: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 Copyright: 2002 News-Journal CorpWebsite: http://www.news-journalonline.com/Contact: http://www.news-journalonline.com/opinion.htm#formRelated Articles:No Truce on Drugs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14208.shtmlDrug Czar To Lobby in Nevada http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14161.shtmlDrug Czar Walters: Marijuana Most Abused Drug http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14100.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #7 posted by krutch on September 24, 2002 at 17:29:16 PT:
Let's Fire Him
We can do it in 2004. Don't forget to register to vote.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by Cannabis jarhead on September 24, 2002 at 12:17:55 PT
calling for resignation !
What if we called for him to resign? The people could do that ,right?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by afterburner on September 24, 2002 at 08:54:19 PT:
"not on my watch"???
"As for campaigns in some states to legalize the drug for treating medical conditions, such as glaucoma and to stop nausea, Walters said, 'It's not going to happen, not on my watch.'" ...This guy is unbelievable, knock on wood. He thinks he's a military commander: "not on my watch."!!! I guess he never heard of democracy. I'm beginning to be more amused than angered by his continued rantings. He clearly is operating on emotions, of fear and intimidation, not scientific facts.
Peace. Struggle on. Spread the truth and VOTE, vote, Vote.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by malleus on September 24, 2002 at 08:41:57 PT
An old saying
"A liar will suspect you of lying, and a thief will suspect you of theft."Mr. Walters has just proved that. He rails against a 'lie' - but refuses to consider that his own agency disseminates lies.He's also living proof of the truth of an old poem by Robert Burns:O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!If Walters could only see just how silly he sounds and looks in his diatribes, and realize his audience politely refrains from calling him a hypocritically moralistic buffoon, he might reconsider his crusade. But people like him never do.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by trainwreck on September 24, 2002 at 07:48:15 PT
big up to the kid who
called Walters on "overdramatizing" the issue.When are they going to start cracking down on drug operations in Canada? Or is cracking down only limited to our swarthy neighbors to the south? How do they plan to eliminate the problem?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by pokesmotter on September 24, 2002 at 07:38:22 PT:
walters proves his ignorance, again
"Walters, director of the National Drug Control Policy, said his immediate focus is battling 'the lie of medical marijuana.'" His ignorance is baffling. It is hard to read that without getting at least a little angry. I am going to laugh when years down the road he discovers marijuana for his own medicine. wouldn't that be wild? walters calling for medical marijuana?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by SirReal on September 24, 2002 at 07:30:06 PT
One day it's ...."we're just enforcing the laws.&
...the next he's out on a whirlwing tour trying to change or maintain them.God is it clear yet he's simply stumping for job security for thousands of underworked "federal, state and local" cops???What would they all do without the war on drugs....arrest real criminals????
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment