cannabisnews.com: Drug Czar Opposes Decriminalizing Marijuana 





Drug Czar Opposes Decriminalizing Marijuana 
Posted by CN Staff on July 24, 2002 at 16:34:39 PT
By Ken Ritter, Associated Press Writer
Source: Associated Press
The White House's "drug czar" called on Nevada residents Wednesday to reject a state ballot initiative legalizing possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana. "I don't think Las Vegas and Nevada want to become the center for drug tourism," said John P. Walters, the head of the federal Office of Drug Control Policy. Walters cast Nevada as a pawn in "a nationally funded campaign with plenty of money" aimed at legalizing the possession and use of marijuana and said the battle has implications in the global war on drugs. 
The leader of the campaign to approve the initiative called Walters' trip to Las Vegas -- including an appearance at a police Drug Abuse Resistance Education convention and a visit to a Clark County Drug Court -- "a disinformation campaign funded by U.S. tax dollars." "Nevadans are sick and tired of the federal government telling them what to do," said Billy Rogers, of Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, which collected well over the 60,000 signatures needed to put the decriminalization initiative on the Nov. 5 ballot. "Most Nevadans think it's a waste of their tax dollars to arrest people for small amounts of marijuana," Rogers said. A statewide poll conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal shows voters split over the initiative -- 46 percent are against it and 44 percent in favor with a 4 percent margin of error. Walters, in an interview at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino, spoke for the Bush administration and echoed a message that federal Drug Enforcement Agency Director Asa Hutchinson delivered July 12 in Reno. "We don't believe that decriminalization eliminates the drug problem," Walters said. "What you will get is more drug use." Until last year, Nevada had the strictest marijuana law in the nation. It made smoking a single marijuana cigarette a felony, punishable by a prison term of a year or more. Now, possession of an ounce or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor. The initiative would tax marijuana like cigarettes and other tobacco products, and allow it to be sold only in state-licensed shops. Public use would be banned and driving under the influence would be illegal. Minors would be prohibited from possessing the drug and private individuals would not be allowed to sell it. Backers argue that it is a waste of taxpayer dollars and law enforcement time to prosecute minor drug offenders. Walters called the push to legalize marijuana "a great con," and said it's fiction that prisons are jammed with "teenage boys caught with a baggie of marijuana." He said decriminalizing marijuana in Nevada would encourage drug use, increase the number of people dependent on other drugs, "and feed the criminal organizations that are a dangerous threat to democratic institutions in the Western Hemisphere." "Look at Amsterdam and parts of Switzerland where there's been decriminalization," Walters said. "People come from all over those countries and other countries to use drugs." He pointed to the billions of dollars spent by federal and state governments to deal with the health and social costs of alcohol and tobacco use, and said governments should increase awareness of the ill effects of marijuana possession and use. The Bush administration projected that it would spend $64 billion in the war on drugs in 2000 -- a figure that has dropped from $154 billion in 1988. "The argument beneath legalization is that nothing works," Walters said. "But it's not true that nothing's working, and it's not true that it can't get worse." He pointed to statistics compiled by the National Institute on Drug Abuse showing that the number of illicit drug users dropped from 25.4 million in 1979 to a low of 12 million in 1992. The number has since increased to 14 million. Complete Title: Federal 'Drug Czar' Opposes Decriminalizing Marijuana in Nevada Source: Associated Press Author: Ken Ritter, Associated Press WriterPublished: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 Copyright: 2002 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Sites:NRLEhttp://www.nrle.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Nevada Becomes Marijuana Battle Groundhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13518.shtmlState at Front Line in Pot Debatehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13513.shtmlVoters Split on Marijuana Issuehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13501.shtmlDEA Director Criticizes Marijuana Ballot Measurehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13388.shtml 
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Comment #9 posted by krutch on July 25, 2002 at 09:10:54 PT:
Correction
The name of the periodical is:The Social Science Journal
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Comment #8 posted by krutch on July 25, 2002 at 09:09:12 PT:
"What you will get is more drug use." 
This statement is not data based. I have found a study in a peer reviewed journal(The Journal of Social Science) that refutes this using data gathered in other US states that have decriminalized. See:http://www.lindesmith.org/library/thies2.html#absI am sick of the Walters argument that because jails are not filled with MJ users that makes the law OK. This is wrong. The people who are arrested for possession and do not go to jail often have their drivers licences suspended, and they have the stigma of a criminal record to deal with for the rest of their life. The police must waste time making the arrest and courts still have to deal with these cases.The taxpayers get to pay the bill. When the arrest MJ user losses his job because he can't drive and goes poor this hurts the economy. If he has to go on welfare the taxpayers gets to pay the bill for this.In short, prohibition is a failure. It failed with booze in the 1920's and it is failing with MJ now. Drug users don't frighten me. The US government on the other hand is terrifying. I don't believe little of what they say. They are certified liars.
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Comment #7 posted by Windminstrel on July 25, 2002 at 07:10:37 PT
yeah yeah yeah
The NEA opposes school vouchers, too -- they realize it'll cut into their budget. Assholes -- nobody likes freedom when there's money involved
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Comment #6 posted by BGreen on July 24, 2002 at 19:53:33 PT
Isn't this just NONSENSE?
"Look at Amsterdam and parts of Switzerland where there's been decriminalization," Walters said. "People come from all over those countries and other countries to use drugs."When did Amsterdam become a country? Plus, if it's decriminalized in a country, why do citizens come from all over their own country to use drugs?If the police and gov't officials aren't upset that tourists come to consume cannabis, WTF business is it of Walters?
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on July 24, 2002 at 18:15:52 PT
No Credibility
Sorry Mr. Walters, but the entire Bush Administration has lost all credibility. Your words mean nothing to any of us now. In fact, only the ignorant even take your words into consideration.unrelated - Dissent of Rep. Cynthia McKinney:
http://whatreallyhappened.com/dissent.htmlrecords of 9/11 response not for public, nyc administration says:
http://www.disinfo.com/pages/article/id2441/pg1/
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Comment #4 posted by greenff on July 24, 2002 at 18:12:37 PT
no war grow live peace
feds so afraid of peace they rather have blood from peaceful loving cannabis possesion people (they are easy to pick on) on their hands so they can continue doing bloodshedding on other part.the feds and gov't love war. we need to overgrow the feds and gov't.
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Comment #3 posted by The GCW on July 24, 2002 at 18:04:49 PT
Is Nevada a pawn? 
Or is the dork?
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Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on July 24, 2002 at 17:05:54 PT
So it's true!
"Walters called the push to legalize marijuana "a great con," and said it's fiction that prisons are jammed with "teenage boys caught with a baggie of marijuana." "THAT ADULTS OF LEGAL AGE DO SIT IN PRISONS FOR A BAGGIE OF MARIJUANA!"Walters cast Nevada as a pawn in "a nationally funded campaign with plenty of money" aimed at legalizing the possession and use of marijuana and said the battle has implications in the global war on drugs."HMMM, LAST TIME I CHECKED, MPP GOT ONLY $15,000 SO FAR TO PLAY THE GAME.. LET'S CHECK HOW MUCH THE GOVERNMENT IS PLANNING TO SPEND.... "The Bush administration projected that it would spend $64 billion in the war on drugs in 2000 -- a figure that has dropped from $154 billion in 1988."BILLIONS????Ladies and Gentlemen, please take the time to donate... http://www.nrle.org Prohibtion is the greatest con ever fostered on public!ff
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Comment #1 posted by BGreen on July 24, 2002 at 17:03:49 PT
What a liar
"The argument beneath legalization is that nothing works," Walters said. "But it's not true that nothing's working, and it's not true that it can't get worse."It's not that "nothing" works, it's just that what the US has done doesn't work. He knows that, he's just a liar.
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