cannabisnews.com: McCaffrey Did Good Job In Drug Fight 





McCaffrey Did Good Job In Drug Fight 
Posted by FoM on January 17, 2001 at 16:34:36 PT
Editorial
Source: State Journal Register
Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey departs as director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy with a five-year record he would candidly acknowledge is mixed.On the plus side, drug use by adolescents is down 21 percent since 1997. Drug-related murders are down by half since 1990. Overall rates for use of cocaine and heroin have stabilized since 1992. Federal spending on programs to prevent drug abuse has increased 55 percent since 1996. 
The number of community drug courts has gone from only 12 in 1994 to about 700 planned or in operation today. Moreover, the use of illegal drugs in the United States has declined by about 50 percent over the last 20 years.Unfortunately, there is at least as much bad news on the drug front. The use of so-called club drugs, like ecstasy, by teenagers is increasing almost exponentially. Heroin is making a comeback. The methamphetamine plague continues. About 6 percent of Americans, 14 million of us, use illegal narcotics. The latest figures available show that 57 percent of addicts in the United States get no drug treatment. That's disastrous.In addition, escalating federal efforts over more than 20 years to interdict drugs entering the United States have failed to reduce their availability or raise their street prices. Cocaine and marijuana are cheaper than ever.So it's easy for skeptics to brand America's supposed "war on drugs" a failure, and even urge its termination. It's also easy enough to brand McCaffrey a failure, a soldier out of his element and over his head on the narcotics issue.Easy, but wrong.In truth, McCaffrey has been by far the most energetic and determined White House drug fighter in the dozen years the office has existed. True, he made mistakes, like his misguided plan to buy anti-drug messages inserted into television entertainment.His bureaucratic battle to put himself into a centralized chain of command that the drug war lacks proved a divisive flop. The White House and Congress couldn't be persuaded, and federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration predictably resisted any encroachment on their authority.Still, McCaffrey was undeterred. He used the office's bully pulpit relentlessly to crusade against the drug abuse that kills an estimated 50,000 Americans a year and blights millions of lives. He got steady increases in funding for counter narcotics programs. Two decades ago, the federal government spent barely $1 billion fighting drugs. Today the figure is $19 billion.To his credit, McCaffrey grew and learned on the job. He now acknowledges that "America can't arrest our way out of the drug problem," meaning simply putting people in jail for drug crimes is not a long-term solution. Federal funding for drug treatment and drug prevention has increased dramatically, with McCaffrey's support.Too often in the past, it has been seen as soft on drugs to commit money to treatment rather than to law enforcement. That view is short-sided. While there is no easy solution to America's drug habit, it is obvious the war on drugs cannot be won solely on the supply side. While it would be foolish to assume America will ever completely rid itself of drug abuse - let us not forget the abuse of legal drugs such as alcohol and nicotine - it is important to acknowledge the progress in recent years from the multifaceted approach of prevention, punishment and treatment.His as-yet-unnamed successor in the Bush administration should spend the time needed to digest the lessons McCaffrey learned, and the recommendations he leaves behind. Those start with, in McCaffrey's words, "prevention coupled with treatment accompanied by research."Source: State Journal-Register (IL)Published: January 17, 2001Copyright: 2001 The State Journal-RegisterAddress: P.O. Box 219, Springfield, IL 62705-0219Fax: (217) 788-1551Contact: letters sj-r.comWebsite: http://www.sj-r.com/Related Articles:Drug War Efforts In Need Of Reform http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8321.shtmlA Drug Warrior Who Would Rather Treat Than Fighthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8237.shtmlMcCaffrey Advocates Prevention, Treatment http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8191.shtml
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Comment #11 posted by rabblerouser on January 18, 2001 at 07:38:28 PT:
stuff
The prohibitionists want to point with pride that they can live without drugs. They view with alarm of those who do drugs. Better and easier to kill them than deal with them in any other way. As long as drugs are illegal there will be a relentless insatiable desire to use them. No limit to the demand side and no limit to the supply side. It is obviously never going to stop. Good money for the boys. The Hopi used Jimson Weed to cure meanness. The prohibitionists need some badly. 
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Comment #10 posted by Duzt on January 18, 2001 at 07:34:59 PT:
another 1997 stat........
Once again this statistic is noted. Use is down since 1997, ok, so he came in in 1996 (you'll notice they say spending increased 55% since 1996) they will never mention how much drug use has changed since he came into office in 1996, only from 1997, because in 1997 drug use surged, another way for them to mis-inform, aren't there laws against this? (maybe that's why there's no author)
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Comment #9 posted by Duzt on January 18, 2001 at 07:33:44 PT:
another 1997 stat........
Once again this statistic is noted. Use is down since 1997, ok, so he came in in 1996 (you'll notice she says spending increased 55% since 1996) they will never mention how much drug use has changed since he came into office in 1996, only from 1997, because in 1997 drug use surged, another way for them to mis-inform, aren't there laws against this?
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Comment #8 posted by Occassional Pot User on January 18, 2001 at 06:29:33 PT
Sweatshops: maybe not so bad for the workers
Did you ever think of the perspective of the workers? Perhaps they might not think sweatshop work is so bad? Think about it - most of the workers are minorities who most likely smoke pot on occassion, and pot lowers your body temperature and makes what most yuppies call "grueling" work, well.. trivial.
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Comment #7 posted by kaptinemo on January 18, 2001 at 05:55:15 PT:
Yes, a lot of people have Barry to thank 
for their present situation.People like Patrick Dorismond. Esequiel Hernandez. Donald Scott. Ismael Mena. Peter McWilliams. Alberto Sepulveda. Too bad they are not here to thank the Gen'rul personally for his Herculean efforts in their behalf.Especially as he tried his best to 'save' them.But I've no doubt that at the Gen'ruls Last Trump, there'll be a welcoming committee to his new assignment. But he better pack twenty pairs of ectoplasmic Nomex; he'll need it where he's going. ************************************************************This is the best example of journalistic fluff I've seen in a long time. The author practically swoons about Barry's accomplishments, without touching upon the one signal result from all of his efforts: We are about to embark upon a misguided intervention in somebody else's civil war. All - ostensibly - to protect America's children from forbidden alkaloids. An intervention that we know has already cost the lives of at least 5 good soldiers (Captain Jennifer Odom and her aircrew) and has probably, secretly, cost many more that we don't know about - yet. An intervention that is poisoning the soil down there for 40 years or more, ensuring that Colombia will not be able to feed itself in the future and will need massive agricultural subsidies to maintain itself. (Perhaps this eventual economic serfdom is precisely what some parties peddling their toxic potions to Uncle for his 'anti-drug' operations really have in mind? Nothing like a 'captive economy' to ensure a continued market.)An intervention Barry lobbied very hard indeed for. If any more American lives are lost down there...and if any more children like Esequiel Hernandez or Alberto Sepulveda are 'accidentally' made into statistics here... we'll have Barry to thank for a large part ot it...
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Comment #6 posted by jus4u on January 18, 2001 at 04:56:32 PT
got that right
don't let the door hit you in the ... on the way out.btw how many innocent people died in the last 5 years???murdererI think they all should go back to the 1800's and see what real violence in the streets looked like.
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Comment #5 posted by Dave in Florida on January 18, 2001 at 04:50:00 PT
another lie
>Cocaine and marijuana are cheaper than ever.Not really, the first 3 finger lid I bought in 1969 was $15.00. Today the same lid is at least $150.00
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Comment #4 posted by Stripey on January 17, 2001 at 23:10:53 PT
Well,
It's not possible to be a politician or a beurocrat (which is really what the czar is) without being a liar. So yes, he's a liar.He seems to be under the impression that mj is worse than the cocktails he sips at all the highball beauro-gatherings on capitol hill.So yes, he's ignorant.Another thing: Why do you think X and other rave drugs are on a rise? Because kids think, (I know I did once) "Well, I'm already breaking the law smoking cannabis, and that means that some pig is going to slap me in jail as soon as he gets the change. Why not experiment with some other stuff. DARE told me how bad weed is, and it isn't. So X and Meth must not be bad for me either." Ignorance weaves a painful web. I hope that Assfry will one day see what he's done wrong. I hope he hears from all of the adolecents sent to prison on MJ charges that got gang raped or attacked for a pack of cigs. I hope that the families of Cancer and AIDS patients that don't get their medicine call him and tell him what he's done to so many good people. I hope that Barry sees what he's done. I hope the families of the dead innocent in Columbia curse Barry til his dying day for killing thier loved ones. The drug war not a failure?! Compare gains to losses, gentleman. Losing an entire regiment of infantry to capture one insignificant bridge is not a victory. You completed an assignment or two MAYBE, Barry, but you're losing. Worse yet, innocent people are losing. Uninvolved people are losing. Barry, go to hell.
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Comment #3 posted by zenarch on January 17, 2001 at 19:13:30 PT
How right you are Dr.
. . . . history will judge him harshly, and deservedly so.allow me to keep the ball rolling on enumerating the reasons why this statement is true:  My most embarassing moment as an American citizen was the day Gen. Barry McCaffery - on Dutch soil - proclaimed at length the failure of Dutch Drug Policy. His words were and are a callous insult to the enlightened people of an enlightened nation. Gen. McCaffery proved to me that day, that he is either possessed of seriously flawed judgment, or He is simply a liar.  I suspect that both may be true. It is a fault that I would be willing forgive If I could, just once, hear him say that in truth he is nothing but an idealog. That he was driven by his Ideal of a Drug Free America and that the actual health, wellbeing, and prosperity of it's citizens was of secondary importance.History will judge him harshly much as it has Harry Anslinger . . . . and deservedly so.Good Riddance. 
Check out pot-tv.net
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Comment #2 posted by Rainbow on January 17, 2001 at 19:04:56 PT
Sweatshops
I just heard an interesting radio article about the sweatshops we have in NYC and LA. Yes they are in exsistence and the "police" do nothing about them.The speaker (Robert Reich) was saying that it is not a secret but there are just not enough people to stop this inhumane way of treating people.So we have 18 billion to spend on a failed set of policies that end up hurting people and allow greedy garment manufacturers to hurt people and treat them poorly.It is once again all about money. Damn what a sad state of affairs and the US is siupposed to be a leader in Human Rights - bah humbug.Our priorities are once again improperly set by the money machined fat cats.Good ridiance McCzarRainbow 
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on January 17, 2001 at 17:22:47 PT:
Mixed Messages
"America can't arrest our way out of the drug problem,"Gee, he sure tried real hard. In truth, his policies promoted just such an effort, and history will judge him harshly, and deservedly so."His as-yet-unnamed successor in the Bush administration should spend the time needed to digest the lessons McCaffrey learned"-----and would well advised to run like hell from every policy. Better: legalize possession, allow clinical cannabis, provide treatment of true addiction on demand, prosecute violent crime, get the USA out of Colombia. There's your secrets to ending the War on Drugs.
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