cannabisnews.com: Drug Chief: Don't Legalize Drugs! Drug Chief: Don't Legalize Drugs! Posted by FoM on June 16, 1999 at 08:51:07 PT By Jim Abrams, Associated Pres Writer Source: LA Times WASHINGTONAmericans oppose the legalization of drugs and would never accept a situation where kids would have access to drugs such as heroin or truck drivers might be high on methamphetamines or LSD, the White House drug policy chief says. "Given the negative impact of drugs on American society, the overwhelming majority of Americans reject illegal drug use," Barry McCaffrey of the Office of National Drug Control Policy said today at a House hearing on the drug legalization movement. In prepared testimony, McCaffrey said legalization would lead to a dramatic rise in drug use and that those arguing for legalization "want drugs made widely available, in chewing gums and sodas, over the Internet and at the corner store, even though this would be tantamount to putting drugs in the hands of children." Also speaking at the hearing of the House Government Reform criminal justice panel were representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Drug Policy Foundation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. McCaffrey pointed to surveys showing that 80 percent of Americans oppose legalizing cocaine or heroin, and 69 percent marijuana. Even among Americans who have tried drugs in the past, 73 percent believe that parents should forbid children from using drugs at any time, he said. He noted that the Netherlands, known for its tolerance to drugs, has seen increased rates of drug abuse and crime, while the tough anti-drug policies of the United States have significantly cut use and crime. Spending on illegal drugs dropped 37 percent from 1988 to 1995, an annual savings of $34.1 billion, he said. Legalization would dramatically increase the human and economic costs associated with drugs, he said, predicting a sharp rise in drug-related traffic and workplace accidents. He cited a National Transportation Safety Board study of 182 fatal truck accidents that found that illegal drugs such as marijuana and stimulants were present in more cases than alcohol. He said the scientific community has a responsibility to conduct research on medicines using marijuana ingredients, but "there are those who want to use medical marijuana as a wedge issue to drive open a hole in counter-drug programs." The Marijuana Policy Project, which supports relaxation of drug laws, issued a report to coincide with the hearing showing that marijuana offenders are crowding American prisons. It said that nearly 60,000 marijuana offenders are incarcerated at any given time in the country, at a cost of $1.2 billion a year. More than one quarter are jailed for personal possession, with no other drugs involved in the offense, it said. Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 16, 1999 at 11:21:19 PT: Drug Chief Discourages Legalization! More information on the Drug Czar's Opinion!Drug Chief Discourages Legalization!WASHINGTON Legalizing drugs would only lead to more abuse, crime and social disruption, White House drug policy chief Barry McCaffrey said Wednesday during a House hearing about the drug legalization movement. ``Youth access to and use of alcohol and cigarettes is bad enough,'' McCaffrey told the House Government Reform criminal justice panel. ``American parents clearly don't want children able to use a fake ID at the corner store to buy heroin.'' McCaffrey was backed up by the Drug Enforcement Administration's deputy administrator, Donnie Marshall. He said that ``once America gives in to a drug culture, and all the social decay that comes with such a culture, it would be very hard to restore a decent civic culture without a cost to America's civil liberties that would be prohibitively high.'' But others questioned the emphasis on criminalizing drug use. ``Dysfunctional laws,'' said Ira Glasser of the American Civil Liberties Union, have resulted in ``massive incarceration -- much of it racially disparate -- and the violation of a wide range of constitutional rights.'' The number of drug offenders in state and federal prisons has gone from 12,000 in 1980 to 281,000 in 1997, said Scott Ehlers of the Drug Policy Foundation, which advocates drug law reforms. ``Drug use and addiction should be treated as public health issues, not criminal justice problems,'' Ehlers said. Opinions differed among the panel members. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the subcommittee, said there can be no retreat in the war on drugs because ``the simple truth is that drugs destroy lives.'' Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., who said he lives in a drug-infested neighborhood in Baltimore, said he opposed the criminalization of drugs. ``I am for making sure that people are treated. We must have a more humane society,'' Cummings said. McCaffrey agreed that treatment is crucial, explaining that the administration had requested $3.5 billion for treatment and research programs for next year, up 5.5 percent. But he said any trend toward legalizing drugs would be disastrous, leading to increased addiction, more crime, more traffic and workplace accidents, as well as more child abuse and neglect. Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health, warned that even short-term use of marijuana can affect the brain, a person's memory and their learning skills. ``Even occasional drug use can be dangerous, and there is no way to predict who may suffer drastic consequences as a result of experimenting with drugs,'' Leshner said. McCaffrey said that message has gotten through to people who experimented with drugs in the 1960s and 1970s. He cited a survey showing that among Americans who have tried drugs in the past, 73 percent believe that parents should forbid children from using drugs at any time. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 16, 1999 at 10:07:58 PT My Comment! What I noticed in this article from McCaffrey is the figures about Truck Driver's and fatal accidents.McCaffrey says:Legalization would dramatically increase the human and economic costs associated with drugs, he said, predicting a sharp rise in drug-related traffic and workplace accidents. He cited a National Transportation Safety Board study of 182 fatal truck accidents that found that illegal drugs such as marijuana and stimulants were present in more cases than alcohol.Truck Driver's can log 100,000 miles a year or more!That actually is a good figure, I believe! Why don't they compare traffic deaths to those who have fatal crashed from using a Cellular Phone too? 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