cannabisnews.com: In Senate Debate on Drugs, 'Traffic' Moves Minds In Senate Debate on Drugs, 'Traffic' Moves Minds Posted by FoM on March 14, 2001 at 21:09:30 PT By John Lancaster, Washington Post Staff Writer Source: Washington Post As depicted in the critically acclaimed movie "Traffic," the national crusade against drugs is a well-intentioned flop that squanders billions on efforts to disrupt supplies while doing little to curb demand through programs such as drug treatment and education. It is a message, apparently, that has not gone unheeded on Capitol Hill.In a case of policy imitating art, or at least echoing it, a Senate hearing room yesterday resounded with pleas for a "balanced" and "holistic" approach to fighting drugs in which treatment and education programs are elevated to the same importance as law enforcement agencies charged with targeting drug producers and importers. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), who presided over the hearing and had a cameo role in "Traffic," said in an interview that although he has some reservations about the movie, it was "kind of a final tipping point" that convinced him of the need to step up funding for treatment and prevention. "That movie just brought it home to me that we've got to do more."Many of his colleagues apparently feel the same way. In that regard, admirers say, "Traffic" recalls such politically influential movies as "The China Syndrome" (1979), which heightened public anxiety about nuclear power plants, and "The Day After," which, when it was broadcast in 1983, helped invigorate the nuclear freeze movement.Last month, President Bush acknowledged the need to curb Americans' appetite for drugs during his trip to Mexico, while in Congress, Hatch joined Republican and Democratic colleagues in introducing legislation that would, among other things, increase funding for anti-drug research, prevention and treatment by $900 million. Admirers of the film include Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) and Joseph A. Califano Jr., a former secretary of health, education and welfare, who praised its unflinching look at drug-related corruption in an opinion piece for The Washington Post this week."It was the right thing at the right time," Peter Kerr, a spokesman for New York-based Phoenix House, the nation's largest nonprofit provider of drug-abuse treatment, said of the film by director Steven Soderbergh. "Until recently, if you wanted to talk to members of Congress about drug treatment, there would be a long sigh and a recognition that this is good for them to listen to" even as they privately concluded, " 'I'm not going to spend any of my political chits on this because I don't see the percentage in it.' "Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, made specific reference to the film in his opening statement yesterday. "As someone who has long supported efforts to reduce the demand for drugs, I was struck when the drug czar played by Michael Douglas in the film . . . questions the lack of emphasis placed on drug treatment," Leahy said. "The comment that stood out most for me was the question of how we can fight a 'war on drugs' when the enemies are drug users who are members of ordinary American families."The movie has its share of detractors, chiefly conservatives who regard it as a plea for decriminalization. During an advance screening in Washington in November, William Olson, staff director for the drug caucus headed by Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), walked out of the film, telling Soderbergh, "Shame on you." Conservatives argue that the movie poses a false choice between locking up drug users or providing them with treatment, when both are often necessary.Moreover, it is not as if the filmmakers invented the policy issues illuminated by "Traffic." Well before the movie opened in theaters, lawmakers from both parties had been acknowledging the need to devote more resources to drug treatment and prevention programs, and, over the past several years, have begun to do so, according to retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey. He headed the White House drug control policy office in the Clinton administration. The federal government has increased spending on anti-drug education by 55 percent and on drug treatment by 35 percent since 1996.Referring to the movie's implication that "if only you could reduce demand, the criminals would go away," McCaffrey said, "Talk about a breakthrough in Western intellectual thought. Why didn't we think of that? Well, we did."But McCaffrey, who saw the film several weeks ago, said he welcomed its contribution to the debate on drug policy. "Its actual impact on thoughtful people was helpful.""Traffic" addresses the drug issue from several perspectives, including that of anti-drug agents battling corrupt government officials in Mexico as well as the character played by Douglas, who discovers that his teenage daughter is addicted to cocaine. The themes it evokes could hardly be more timely.Last year, for example, Congress approved a plan to spend $1.3 billion to help Colombia's armed forces eradicate drug crops that finance illegal armed groups. At the same time, lawmakers have grown increasingly concerned about the rapid growth of the nation's prison population, much of which is a result of harsher penalties for drug-related offenses."I do think there has been some shift," said Sen. Paul D. Wellstone (D-Minn.), who in June tried to amend the Colombia plan to shift $225 million to drug treatment programs. The amendment lost on a lopsided 89-11 vote. Now, he said, "I think that amendment would be a close vote."At yesterday's hearing, Hatch cited a study showing that "in 1998, states spent $81.3 billion -- about 13 percent of total state spending -- on substance abuse and addiction." Hatch noted, however, that only $3 billion of that was spent on prevention and treatment, with the rest going to "shovel up the wreckage of substance abuse and addiction," as the study's authors put it.Some liberal advocacy groups have seized on the movie to promote their case for decriminalizing drug use. Perhaps the most prominent is the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, which cites the movie in its campaign to influence Bush's choice of a new White House drug policy coordinator. In a recent news release, the group said it is "urging President Bush to appoint a drug czar who will 'think outside the box,' as Michael Douglas's character pleads for in the movie 'Traffic.' "But there is no such groundswell on Capitol Hill. At yesterday's hearing, Hatch emphasized, "We must, and will, continue our vigilant defense of our borders and our streets against" those who traffic in drugs.Several witnesses also espoused that view. "There's no question that there's growing understanding of the importance of a public health approach," Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in an interview. But he added, "It would be a serious mistake to pit" law enforcement and public health approaches against each other. "We need great vigor on both fronts."Source: Washington Post (DC) Author: John Lancaster, Washington Post Staff WriterPublished: Thursday, March 15, 2001; Page A10 Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com/Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm TLC - DPFhttp://www.lindesmith.org/Traffic Official Web Site http://www.traffic-movie.com/CannabisNews Articles - Traffichttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=traffic Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #8 posted by FoM on March 23, 2001 at 21:43:22 PT: News Brief From AScribe News Hollywood Makes America Rethink War on Drugs StoptheWar.com Site Links Movie 'Traffic' to U.S. Drug Policy Protest NEW YORK, March 23 (AScribe News) -- Nominated for five Academy Awards, the movie ''Traffic'' is having a major impact on drug reform policy, as well as at the box office. The movie's impact on the drug debate has been featured in stories on ABC's Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, and in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Miami Herald, Newsweek, and many other newspapers and magazines. More than 250,000 people have visited a Traffic-related Web site, StopTheWar.com, where they can send free faxes to President Bush urging him to appoint a drug czar who will ''think outside the box,'' as Michael Douglas' character pleads in Traffic. The drug czar is the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, which oversees all federal anti-drug efforts. In ''Traffic,'' Michael Douglas plays a tough-on-crime judge who learns the futility of the war on drugs. The Bush Administration is about to appoint a new drug czar - and www.StopTheWar.com encourages its visitors to help influence the President's choice. ''Our nation's drug policy is doomed so long as no one in power is willing and able to admit the drug war's failure and look for real alternatives,'' said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, which sponsors the StopTheWar.com site. ''What we need today is a drug czar who will talk honestly and openly about the totality of drug use in America, and who will address the negative consequences of our current policies.'' http://drugpolicy.org/For more information, visit-- http://www.stopthewar.com/ -- or contact Shayna Samuels, e-mail: ssamuels drugpolicy.org, phone (212) 547-6916. My What's New Page [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on March 15, 2001 at 21:17:14 PT Thank You greenfox Someday we might be able to meet. I don't know how far you are from the VA Hospital called I believe Wade Park but in the future we will be needing to go up there for some tests. If you aren't far and we both have the time that might be nice. I doubt that we will get to the March because it can't be a priority for us right now but you never know. We might just meet and say high one day. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by ras james rsifwh on March 15, 2001 at 09:43:38 PT CANNABIS HEALING POWERS In 1968, I-man smoked cigarettes, drank, and gambled.Holy Herb broke all three of these personal habits.Also, lost all urges to try other drugs.Today smoke herb sparingly and then only for spiritual purposes.This Rasta would put tighter contols on alcohol and tobacco.Would carefully make Heroin available to hooked addicts.Would hold many "reasonings" on how exactly to make cocainesafely available to adult users...23 years old.Would open treatment centers that used Cannabis Sativa as a healing medicine to free users of the above dangerous drugs.........GIVE ALL PRAISE AND THANKS TO JAH RASTAFARI........ [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by m segesta on March 15, 2001 at 08:10:28 PT: More Washington...... Sorry if I seem obsessed with the place lately, but while surfing on some drug policy issues I came across an episode of one my favorite programs -- NPR's This American Life (available on streaming audio using RealPlayer) -- addressing the disproportionate sentences in drug cases and the racial disparity in how those awful sentences are meted out. It also features a wonderful interview with one of our C-News favorites, Eric Sterling, former counsel to the Judiciary Committee responsible for these tragedies. http://www.thislife.org/ra/143.ramThe best part: when an ex-congressman admits he did not know what he was voting for when he voted for "mandatory minimums" and now regrets his vote.Check it out. As host Ira Glass asks, "What's Wrong With This Picture?" http://www.thislife.org/ra/143.ram [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by m segesta on March 15, 2001 at 07:10:43 PT: Washington at Its Best........ ANdrew Sullivan recently wrote on excellent piece cirticizing our drug strategy by pointing out that with AMerican's embrace of "lifestyle pharmaceuticals" like Prozac or Viagra, and our longstanding demonization of cannabis, XTC, and the like, we cen't even rationally sort out what is (or should be) a legal drug and what is (or should be) a "street" or illegal drug. You can get the article in Reason (I think) or www.andrewsullivan.com.So, when I came across www.theonion.com/onion3326/tradeagreement.html, I not only laughed very hard, I was also somewhat dismayed because this "spoof" in a humor magazine is more accurate, dead-on reporting than most major serious media outlets provides.I just had to post this one....it's that good: www.theonion.com/onion3326/tradeagreement.html http://www.theonion.com/onion3326/tradeagreement.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on March 15, 2001 at 06:18:54 PT: Thanks, GF, but ... "I'm not worthy". Part of what I do comes from guilt.It was my generation which, instead of following through and pushing hard for cannabis legalization when we were that close to having it in the late 1970's... sat on our butts and mistakenly thought the righteousness of our position would sway the pols. And the antis kicked our butts. How? By seeing that we weren't expending enough time and effort lobbying those very pols. (Yes, I know, the idea is distasteful in the extreme, but that's the way things are done.) By getting to the pols first with their inane 'parents movement', telling unsubstantiated lies about cannabis. Lies that we felt anyone with half a brain would see through. Lies we didn't effcetively challenge. Lies that the antis trumpetted from their 'bully pulpit' at every opportunity.And the entire anti-cannabis policy of the US from 1980 on has been predicated by those lies. And condemned the whole next generation to suffering the increasing depredations of a government gone obsessively drug-crazy. We've been living with this madness ever since. It's taken people's lives; innocent bystanders (like Peter McWilliams; what capital crime did he commit to be put to death by the State as he was?) and yes, even good cops, and is taking far more time and effort to bring to heel than if people in my generation had just pushed a little harder.I don't deserve any praise. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by greenfox on March 15, 2001 at 05:47:38 PT Kap, did anyone tell you...? That you are a god? Your talents are, (appreciated, alas,) but *wasted* here. I don't mean that in a mean manner. :) I really don't! But instead of comming on here and spouting your views where they are heard by internet surfers already on your side, perhaps you have thought about education? Shit, you could even (*dare I say it!) become a politician! Why? Why?!? Because, damn it... you're honest, and you know what you're talking about. Just random thoughts from a random mind. Don't mind, eh? :) Let me close by saying that I don't want you (or observer) to go anywhere; you guys are the backbones of this discussion. (I think everyone else here can lower their egos for a sec and agree that you guys def. both have the smarts and make JUSTIFIED comments),. In any case, we love you Kap, and keep up the good fight!(and observer, although you are a bit quieter, we love you too!)peaceand of coursesly in green, and FOXY in kind-gfps- observer, kap, & FoM: if you guys are ever in Cleveland OH you have a place to stay. We'll leave the light on for you! :) (and breakfast at our house includes bong hits, so.. don't take up the offer unless...well, you know..);) [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on March 15, 2001 at 05:29:02 PT: Denial, denial, denial...nothing but denial As our own Observer would put it, more 'bait and switch'. They have started to tumble to the fact that the public has 'discovered' that the DrugWar is a farce, that it's an expensive boondoggle, and something needs to be done about it. They are tentatively, like someone sticking their big toe in the bathwater, testing the public sentiments by making half-*ssed, pusilanimous statements:Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), who presided over the hearing and had a cameo role in "Traffic," said in an interview that although he has some reservations about the movie, it was "kind of a final tipping point" that convinced him of the need to step up funding for treatment and prevention. "That movie just brought it home to me that we've got to do more."(This from the man who derided such worthies as Rick Doblin of MAPS http://www.maps.org and our own Doc Russo as being 'pot-head doctors'. This, from a man who has fought tooth and nail against needle exchange programs, which might have saved more lives.)But they still refuse to admit that the DrugWar they have been engaged in has been singularly useless...and been more damaging than the illicit drugs have ever been.At yesterday's hearing, Hatch emphasized, "We must, and will, continue our vigilant defense of our borders and our streets against" those who traffic in drugs. That's right, Orrin, whup up on that ol' Tar Baby; get both hands and feet stuck to it. You very nearly have...It's quite funny, in a way: the pols are acting precisely as many narcotics and alcohol addicts do...deny they have a problem. Deny it's gotten to the point where it's affecting their ability to reason. Deny that they are causing harm to the people around them. Deny that they are creating situations where what they do can cause severe injury or death. They can handle things just fine, thank you very much!But out of this entire mishmash, we can see a glimmer of hope. In a very oblique way, Doctor Lysenko, uh, er, I meant Doctor Leshner pointed out something very interesting...which is a secret fear of the antis."There's no question that there's growing understanding of the importance of a public health approach," Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in an interview. But he added, "It would be a serious mistake to pit" law enforcement and public health approaches against each other. "We need great vigor on both fronts."Translation? That the antis are afraid that their precious little war could become the next victim of the next swing of the DrugWar pendulum. Meaning that things have been going great guns on the LEO side of the equation, and now things may be swinging back to the medical paradigm again...with the concommitant lessening on the emphasis of the 'lock 'em all up!" approach - and the potential loss of all that lovely money that goes with it. Leshner and his political LEO bedmates want it both ways. Continuing the vicious civil war, and then sweetly offering the beaten and bloody survivors 'rehab'...out of the goodness of their hearts. While fattening their wallets with both forfeiture money and grants to run rehab facilities. These people are so transparent it's a wonder you can see them at all. But they may be forced into a one-or-the-other situation. And with more members of the public saying that the DrugWar has to go, which way do you think things may turn? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: