cannabisnews.com: Rocky Rocks The Boat Rocky Rocks The Boat Posted by FoM on August 23, 2000 at 07:27:26 PT Opinion Source: Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson made the Utah Democratic Party smoking mad last week by suggesting that the decriminalization of marijuana deserves serious consideration. State Democratic Chairwoman Meg Holbrook called Anderson's comments at the Shadow Convention in Los Angeles "irresponsible," but the same could be said of the mainstream political parties' refusal to address what the mayor had the courage to point out: The government's punitive approach to fighting drug abuse has failed miserably. Anderson's call for a policy geared toward prevention and treatment makes sense. Consider some facts about the current tactics: The government has spent tens of billions of dollars in its 30-year war on drugs, including $18.5 billion this year, but while the population of Americans convicted of drug charges has increased tenfold, the street price of cocaine has fallen the surest measure of a plentiful supply. In 1998, the last year for which statistics are available, 975,000 Americans used heroin, double the number from 1993. About 13 million Americans one in 20 regularly used illegal drugs in 1998. The Shadow Convention, an alternative to the mainstream Democratic Convention that Anderson predicted would "avoid the tough issues," tackled the drug problem head-on. New Mexico's Republican Gov. Gary Johnson used the L.A. forum to continue his yearlong crusade to legalize all drugs. He argues that the $65 billion spent by Americans on drugs each year could be taxed and the money used for prevention and treatment programs. Legalization would end organized crime's lucrative involvement, he says, just as it drove criminals out of the alcohol trade when Prohibition was lifted in 1933. Fewer cops, courts, jails and prisons would be needed, and the cumulative savings could be funneled into preventing people from trying drugs in the first place. Critics of the approach, including U.S. drug warrior Barry McCaffrey, fear that addictions would explode if drugs were legalized, and he believes that the only effective treatment programs are those which addicts are forced into by the courts. A better option might be one Anderson touched upon in Los Angeles, decriminalizing marijuana. Eight states and the District of Colombia have already done this for those whose medical conditions are eased by the drug. Critics who fear that legalization of marijuana will lead to greater abuse can look to Amsterdam, where pot and hashish have been sold legally in coffee shops for 20 years. Less than 3 percent of Dutch admitted to using drugs in 1998, compared with 5 percent of Americans. The arguments from all sides could fill a book, but most would agree that the current anti-drug strategy isn't working. Before anything can change, more politicians must be willing to buck the establishment to hammer that message home. Published: August 23, 2000Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)Contact: letters sltrib.com Address: 143 S Main, Salt Lake City UT 84111Fax: (801) 257-8950Website: http://www.sltrib.com/© Copyright 2000, The Salt Lake Tribune Related Articles & Web Sites:The Shadow Conventionshttp://www.shadowconventions.com/Shadow Convention 2000 News Boardhttp://homepages.go.com/~marthag1/Shadcon.htm Think Outside The Political Box http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6797.shtmlCampbell Speaks To National Audience http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6574.shtmlMapInc. Articles On The Shadow Conventions:http://mapinc.org/shadow.htm CannabisNews Articles On The Shadow Conventions:http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=shadow Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by Kanabys on August 24, 2000 at 07:56:40 PT They are coming outta the closet slowly but surely. I really do wonder sometimes how many anti WoD pols there actually are.This is really a large number for such a short time frame.I hope it continues to increase in number. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on August 24, 2000 at 04:45:36 PT: When the people lead, the leaders follow We are going to see more and more of this as time goes by. The more advanced of the pols have already sensed the shift in the political wind vis-a-vis public perceptions on the WoSD. They sensed it years ago, but waited for the more adventurous of their number to broach the matter. Back in 1988, Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore was one of the first to bring up the subject of legalization to curb crime. Predictably, he was villified by the antis, but he stood his ground. Now more pols are starting to climb on our bandwagon. Some of these guys really are sincere. Governor Johnson, Mayor Anderson, Jesse Ventura, Tom Campbell, Maxine Waters, John Conyers. They know who's paying the real price for this ignominious War. They *know* that the WoSD has done nothing but line the pockets of the crooked and the power-hungry, while ruining hundreds of thousands of lives. But many of them are opportunists. IMHO Charlie Rangel is a perfect example. If they turn their ideological coats once, they'll do it again to save their careers, and to perdition with the harm it'll do to the country. After all, Rangel and his cohorts were the most visible and vocal of the DrugWarrior's supporters; do any of you really trust them now that they are trying to sing in our choir? [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by UtahDude on August 23, 2000 at 21:31:30 PT Rocky Anderson Rocky also just ended the DARE program in Salt Lake City (he is the mayor) by ending the funding to this bad program amid much wringing of hands and cries of "won't anybody please think of the children". Asset forfiture reform will also be on the ballot in november. Incredible. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by m.o.g. on August 23, 2000 at 20:46:19 PT what the F #$ this can't be a real article, from a real newspaper...it just can't be...especially from the morman state?what's happening here all? we can win this war, especially if we get more articles like this one, and the author is correct by saying that more politians must jump on board... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Kanabys on August 23, 2000 at 17:05:57 PT Good article.... coming from such a conservative state. 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