cannabisnews.com: Bob Weiner Blasts John Stossel ABC 20-20 Report Bob Weiner Blasts John Stossel ABC 20-20 Report Posted by CN Staff on July 31, 2002 at 08:28:49 PT By Robert Weiner Source: U.S. Newswire Former White House drug policy spokesman Bob Weiner is blasting last night's ABC 20-20 drug piece by John Stossel: "It was a distorted and inaccurate excuse for drug legalization. It blows off the successes and real reductions in use generated both by government drug policy and efforts by parents, teachers, coaches, businesses, community coalitions, religious leaders, and law enforcement." Weiner, who was Director of Public Affairs for the White House Office of National Drug Policy May 1995-August 2001 under Drug Czars Lee Brown, Barry McCaffrey, and the Bush transition, pointed to what he calls "radical inconsistencies in Stossel's reporting. He repeatedly ignores or downplays each positive finding about drug policy." "Stossel throws in the important data point that drug use is down by 50 percent but then says throughout the piece that use is the same and we are losing the war. He never says that crack cocaine -- the primary crime-causing drug in recent years -- is down by two-thirds. He finds one police chief who says it's all fruitless -- understandable in a particular high usage area -- but ignores and does not report the myriad of police who tell experts that crime and drugs are down because criminals and dealers are taken off the streets. He ignores the fact that the governments anti-drug media campaign the last four years has coincided with a 40 percent reduction of youth drug users and 25 percent improvement in parent anti-drug communication with youth -- huge success rates in precisely the intended target audiences. "Stossel pushes his inaccurate points that the drug war 'creates crime' when it is precisely the opposite: drug use generates murders, domestic violence, and date rapes. He soft pedals marijuana use, with assertions by an archetypical long haired user that 'marijuana hasn't killed anyone,' but has no one pointing out that marijuana is the second leading cause of car crashes as well as the primary drug in teen drug treatment "He has no understanding of foreign efforts, either," Weiner asserted. He quotes disputed CIA Colombia cocaine increase numbers based on their flawed, cloud-covered data despite Colombia's surveys showing significant drops in cultivation and the success of the spraying of 30 percent of its cocaine acreage. He never mentions that Peru and Bolivia obtained over 60 percent reductions and Colombias five year plan envisions an equally obtainable 50 percent reduction," says Weiner, who has been on two recent Colombia missions with McCaffrey. "He asserts that Europe is succeeding with a liberalized policy but does not mention that drug seizures in Europe have doubled the last three years and use has gone up, indicating that Europe may face our drug and crime problems of past decades that we have escaped from by the comprehensive education and law enforcement efforts we are now making. Stossel dismisses former Drug Czar McCaffrey's assertions of the 'disaster' of European legalization trends by saying 'not what we heard', hardly a scientific methodology. "Finally, Stossel barely mentions the concession of his own legalization advocates that 'maybe more would use drugs'. He insists that 'The war on drugs is a war on ourselves.' To dismiss the point that under legalization more would use drugs -- and that hospital emergency rooms would be flooded, crime and dropouts would rise, families would be disrupted, and the toll would be immeasurable -- is like asking Mrs. Lincoln on that fateful day, 'Aside from that Mrs. Lincoln how was the play?'" Weiner concluded by asserting, "I have never seen a worse piece of major journalism on drug policy other than perhaps a similar one done by Geraldo Rivera years ago when he refused to use interview points by the Drug Czar which disagreed with Geraldo's thesis."Contact: Bob Weiner or Joe Hammer, 301-283-0821 or 202-329-1700 both of Robert Weiner Public Affairs Complete Title: Former White House Drug Spokesman Bob Weiner Blasts John Stossel ABC 20-20 Report as 'Distorted, Inaccurate Excuse for Legalization' Source: Robert Weiner, Associates Public Affairs and Issue Strategies Source: U.S. NewswireAuthor: Robert WeinerPublished: July 31, 2002Copyright 2002 U.S. Newswire Website: http://www.usnewswire.com/ Contact: http://www.usnewswire.com/contactusn.htmlRelated Articles:De-Fang Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13586.shtmlJohn Stossel Takes on the Drug Warhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13579.shtmlJust Say No: Government’s War on Drugs Failshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13578.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #22 posted by FoM on August 03, 2002 at 09:41:50 PT BGreen Thanks for the ratings. I didn't even check what the others were showing. Over 4 million viewers is good though. When programs compete against current interesting news it can hurt other programs but the numbers show that many, many people watched Stossel's special. It really isn't a fair way of rating true quality in program. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by BGreen on August 02, 2002 at 02:40:57 PT Stossels' show flopped in the ratings. I wonder if we'll ever see another show like it?The miners on NBC drew the most viewers, just as I had predicted, but I never thought more people would watch "Judging Amy" than Stossels' show. I never saw it being promoted, even on the evening news, and the only news show ABC hawked all day long was Ted Koppels' interview with Bruce Springsteen. They failed to promote it, and it failed in the ratings.NBC promoted the HELL out of Dateline, including showing excerpts during the Today Show and the evening news. They wanted it to win in the ratings and it did."Dateline NBC" blew away the competition at 10 p.m., with a 7.4/13. CBS remained in second place with "Judging Amy" at 5.6/10. ABC's special report, "War on Drugs, a War on Ourselves with John Stossel," was third with 4.6/9. NBC, CBS and FOX tie on Tuesday [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by Phasetheory on August 01, 2002 at 22:08:17 PT Go Stossel I'm glad ABC has at least one conservative on the news. Stossel is one of the common sense conservatives that I'm sure many people would support if Republicans didn't enforce morality. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by qqqq on July 31, 2002 at 23:43:52 PT .[oops]....come to think of it.. ...I've never seen RasvingDave [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by qqqq on July 31, 2002 at 23:41:41 PT ...Atta Boy Weenie!!! ......In the entire gallery of delusioned,antis,and crackpot criminalizers,,,,I always kinda like Bob Weenie!! He really stands out..He says alot of the same material as the greats,like Bennett,Walters,and McCaffrey...But; ... the Weenie got looked over for the coveted czar bethronement/appointment.....His lifes dream is to aspire to the position of CZAR.......He can really bring out the best in people.......... all the great comments are proof of this......seems like a month of Sundays since we've seen SWAMPIE,,or RasvingDave. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by RavingDave on July 31, 2002 at 20:59:19 PT Comments on the Show I just can't express how much I loved this expose. Mr. Stossel is a god in my book. His acerbic commentary and stiletto journalism were right on the mark. I especially loved how he would play devil's advocate when questioning junkies and dealers. To one drug user, in prison: "But now you're safe. You're no longer a threat to yourself." The response: "It's just as easy to get drugs in here as out there."My favorite parts were the takes from his interview with Asa. He just made the man look like a complete fool. OK, we all know how easy that is, but John did it like a pro. It was like watching Elvis in a room full of vestal virgins. My wife and I couldn't stop laughing.Hehehe - Excuse me, my sides are splitting... [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by RavingDave on July 31, 2002 at 20:54:06 PT I Can't Believe... ...I am even dignifying this idiot with a response, but I just can't let this go.Stossel throws in the important data point that drug use is down by 50 percent but then says throughout the piece that use is the same and we are losing the war.Actually, what he said was that the government reports that drug use is down by 50% over the last 20 years, but that it has not changed in the last 10 years. What this means, for those not mathematically inclined (or prone to misstate facts) is that we decreased drug use during the 80's, but not at all during the 90's. Stossel accurately points out, to the reluctant agreement of Asa Hutchinson, that we haven't made a dent in the last 10 years. Hey, if Asa, a.k.a. "Mr. Denial," says it's true, then it must be. Lord knows it's hard enough to get a straight answer out of the man, much less a truthful one.I remember Mr. Weiner from Politically Incorrect. When asked about why we're worried about the Netherlands being the Ecstasy capitol of the world, instead of taking a look at the issue of demand by our youth, Mr. Weiner got all bug-eyed and exclaimed that it's because we're not tough enough on the Dutch. "We have to really hammer on them," he ranted, as if we have any right to "hammer" on another country.In my opinion, he is among the freakiest of the warped-out freaks, and he had the perfect job for his personality type. Too bad he lost it. We'll probably see him soon, running around the White House lawn naked and singing Donna Summer tunes. Maybe he could use some medical marijuana! [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by SWAMPIE on July 31, 2002 at 20:00:04 PT I HEARD THE "PLOP"-------- I SAW THE STEAM--- I SMELLED THE"SMELL"-Of the"Bog of Stench"that this idiot and all of his ill-gotten worthless PEONS have been producing for sometime.All it took was a couple of good TRUTHFUL articles,and the walls will fall upon you and your ilk!!!You will drown in your own shit! I do understand that children and young adults will want to experience with getting high on whatever their personal preference would be,just as myself and countless others have done before them!There is possibly a MINUTE addiction factor with cannabis,the harder drugs,you have to use EXTREME CAUTION as they can become addictive if not taken with SELF-REGULATION!But it is up to the people to decide,not you,Bob,Asa,George,John,John,etc!If you don't like the idea of legalization and regulation,please call my secretary;Kloppitykloop 1-900-WAAH!!!!!!And tell 'em Barney sent ya!!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by kaptinemo on July 31, 2002 at 19:44:06 PT: Ach! I've just had my eyes smeared ...with ocular bull feces. Where's the rinse station?Looking at the list of bona fides that Mr. Weiner provides the feeling of just having encountered visual BS. It's clear he's never held anything but a government mouthpiece job. In short, Mr. Weiner is a professional BSer. A highly sophisticated form of leach, living off the taxpayer's lifeblood. And looking to become a big fat leach at that. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by BGreen on July 31, 2002 at 15:52:41 PT The other side ALWAYS has a financial stake Our side is trying to stay out of prison, their side is trying to make a buck! Robert Weiner Associates offers full service public affairs and issue strategy support to clients whose philosophy and actions reflect our company's commitment to American values of freedom, justice, and integrity. These qualities are plain for all to see, whether in the life of a political organization, the living culture of a corporation, or the actions and words of a great athlete. RWA creates, sharpens, and delivers the message that defines the client. We develop electronic and print ads for selected (yes, that's right: if your issue is boring we don't want you any more than you want us!) political and private sector clients. We generate news coverage to target your message to your audience. RWA consults with media on drug policy, aging issues, government operations, sports information, political campaign issues and organization, and other issues where we have expertise. Promote your issue using Robert Weiner's 30 years of top experience in the political and government arenas: With the White House as the Drug Czar's Public Affairs Director With Congressman John Conyers as Communications Director of the Government Operations Committee With Congressman Charles Rangel as Press Secretary for the House Narcotics Committee With Congressman Claude Pepper as Staff Director of the Aging Committee With Congressman Ed Koch as Legislative Assistant With Senator Ted Kennedy as political aide to his Senate and Presidential campaigns With the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate as its first Youth Vote Director after 18-year-olds obtained the vote by Constitutional amendment RWA knows how to get things done -- for YOUR public affairs and issue strategies. ROBERT WEINER ASSOCIATES [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by BGreen on July 31, 2002 at 15:10:50 PT I'm sure Donahue would LOVE having Weiner on He can be shot down as quickly as a plane over Peru. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by i420 on July 31, 2002 at 14:44:13 PT ... Who cares what Bob thinks. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Ethan Russo MD on July 31, 2002 at 14:35:37 PT: Statistical Torture Mr. Weiner is announcing the fact that in car crashes, drug screens get done, and some are positive. In those, cannabis comes in second to alcohol, not because it has anything to do with the cause of the accidents, but rather because cannabis metabolites may be present in the urine for up to 30 days after last exposure. Most other drugs are gone so fast that the drug screens say nothing about them.This is dishonest at best, and better characterized as deceptive propaganda. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by freakmonk on July 31, 2002 at 14:30:55 PT Pot is the 2nd highest cause of crashes? I wonder how many of those wrecks had alcohol involved as well? This statistic of Weiner's must be taken out of context. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Fern on July 31, 2002 at 10:50:21 PT With regards to druid's comment "One of the main thing she talked about was how more and more countries are starting to see the USA as not the land of freedom and democracy but the land of terror, death and oppression."I believe this to be true. As an outside observer, I have to say that many of the Bush Administration's (can it really be called an administration?) actions and policies smack of Soviet and Nazi-style rule, and its tedency does not seem to indicate a change of course. I would NEVER want to live in the present day United States, as it is too Orwellian. If the USA is indeed a democracy, it is up to the people to make themselves heard and to have their will respected. I like to refer to Canada as "The Land of the Actually Free"Fern [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by kaptinemo on July 31, 2002 at 10:37:46 PT: "Ah-waaaah! Ah-waaaaah!" Would some kind soul stuff a sugar sucker in his mouth so we don't have to hear this very tiresomne whining?As the Good Doctor pointed out, Mr. Weiner was jonesing for Barry's job even before Barry's chair was cold. Now he wants to sound like he's the George Patton of the DrugWar.Historical fact: Patton's voice was scratchy and on the verge of whiney. Hardly what anyone would call a 'command voice'.Mr. Weiner seems to be thinking he can make like all the other bulldog mouth/puppydog arse antis. Lot of posturing...but no action. And get paid for it. At our expense. We have enough such 'useless eaters' on the Fed payroll. Send this dweeb packing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on July 31, 2002 at 10:25:44 PT Pranksters Hey! Hi Nicholas, The pranksters from NORML that's rich! [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by krutch on July 31, 2002 at 10:13:01 PT: Righteous Indignation... Because John Stossel dares to report what the rest of the free world already understands. Bob Weiner needs to watch the progam again. He missed the point. He just keeps arguing with bogus goverment statistics""governments anti-drug media campaign the last four years has coincided with a 40 percent reduction of youth drug users and 25 percent improvement in parent anti-drug communication with youth "Funny, I thought I heard John Walters say in another piece that youth drug use was down by 15 percent. Which is it? Where do these numbers come from? How did the measure the 25 percent improvement in parent anti-drug communication with youth. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by druid on July 31, 2002 at 09:13:35 PT: it must have been a great show .... I missed the 20-20 report last night because I had some overtime work to finish up but my wife watched and it must have been very good because after I got home my wife talked non-stop about it for over 2 hours! I have tried to to get her involved with the whole WoSD thing for some time now and she just hasn't been very interested in it until now. Good job John Stossel it must have been one hell of a presentation. I am sorry I missed it!One of the main thing she talked about was how more and more countries are starting to see the USA as not the land of freedom and democracy but the land of terror, death and oppression. Anyone in Idaho? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Nicholas Thimmesch on July 31, 2002 at 09:12:46 PT: Speaking of the Weenie Weiner.... Hey: check this out...... General News Events Robert Weiner Associates Public Affairs and Issues Strategies: Open media tour of the Presidential Yacht Sequoia. Location: Washington Dock, Maine Ave., SW. 5 p.m. Contact: 301-283-0821 or 202-329-1700 .....I hope if you have lots of time on your hands you will call them to try to get on the tour......So: when the pranskters at NORML called to find out if we could come by for the "media tour" of the yacht, we were muffled and taken to task for even calling. Weiner: what a dick...NORML PRANKSTER CONTINGENT (aka: THIMMESCH). [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Dankhank on July 31, 2002 at 08:52:12 PT: Scary sometimes ... The lengths the liars will go to save their jobs.I'm angry, but will not respond here, will respond otherwise ...Keep fighting the fight ...Heading to Missoula, now, will arrive in the AfternoonLater all ...... Hemp N Stuff [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on July 31, 2002 at 08:46:22 PT: More Tired Lies Consider the source: this is the fellow that actively promoted himself as drug czar for Dubya, and lost. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment