(US Drug Czar) John Walters' Lies

John Walters' Lies

DrugSense offers a number of incredible, free services to drug policy
reformers, researchers, and advocates (please see
http://www.drugsense.org/ ). However, our main mission is to promote
honesty and accuracy in the War on Drugs, with the goal of moving us
towards a more evidence-based, public health-centered approach to
substance use.

Although it would be nearly impossible to list all of the
misinformation disseminated by the U.S. federal government in regards
to the War on Drugs, we believe that it's useful to occasionally point
out major mistruths. With this in mind, the following list embodies
the three most recent Drug War lies told by John Walters, America's
drug czar, as well as links to the articles on http://www.mapinc.org
that help to dispel these misguided myths:

1. Canada is shipping "Extreme Ecstasy" to the U.S. The ONDCP's first
major press release of 2008 made a disturbing announcement. According
to Walters, there is a "dangerous new drug threat coming from Canada:
Extreme Ecstasy." Less than two weeks after the January 4th press
release, the head of the RCMP's national drug branch sternly rebuked
the ONDCP claims. Supt. Paul Nadeau said he doesn't know why Walters
would make such fictional statements without checking facts with
Canadian officials. He added that he himself has never heard of
"extreme Ecstasy.... it would appear that it's a term that somebody
came up with in a boardroom in Washington, D.C."
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n077/a02.html

2. The War on Drugs is working. After government research suggested
that cocaine prices had gone up 44% over a 9 month period, Walters
declared that the federal government's international interdiction
policies were affecting supply. This was quickly countered by experts
like Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy
Alliance, who stated that "assuming that high cocaine prices are
hurting cartels is like assuming high gasoline prices are hurting oil
companies". http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1291/a04.html

3. Cannabis cultivators are terrorists. "These people are armed;
they're dangerous. [They're] violent criminal terrorists," said
Walters at a press briefing in 2007, "who wouldn't hesitate to help
other terrorists get into the country with the aim of causing mass
casualties." Scott Thill of Alternet researched this claim and
concluded that there is no existing data to support this absurd
allegation. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1011/a03.html

It is always frustrating when a public official deceives the public
with misrepresentation and half-truths; however, because of the "war"
approach to substance use advocated by the U.S. federal government,
these lies are leading to an unacceptable increase in:

* the incarceration of non-violent drug offenders;
* the demonization and stigmatization of substance users;
* the number of HIV/AIDS and hep-c infections;
* the misrepresentation of the potential harms of substance use,
whether legal or illegal.

In other words, these lies are not only offensive; they are resulting
in an entirely avoidable loss of freedoms, life and liberty.
DrugSense would like to put an end to this misguided, misrepresented,
and ineffective War on Drugs, but we need your help.

To help us keep the federal government honest, please DONATE TODAY by
clicking http://drugsense.org/donate/ It's fast and easy. All on-line
donations are secure, private, and tax-deductible.

Checks can also be made payable to DrugSense and mailed to:

DrugSense
14252 Culver Dr #328
Irvine, CA 92604-0326

SPECIAL NOTE: You can spread your donation over the course of a year
by automatically repeating it every month, quarter, or half year. (
http://www.drugsense.org/donate/) Thank you again for working to end
the international war on drugs, and for supporting DrugSense/MAP.

Mark Greer,
Executive Director

P.S. You might note that MAP is driven by volunteers who not only
archive articles, but also respond to them with Letters to the Editor.
That's the beauty of MAP. We empower those who want to change policy.
Among them are:

I Apologize For Drug Czar: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n083/a06.html

Voluntary Student Drug Tests: Bad Idea:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n814/a04.html

Drug Testing Pitfalls:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n926/a11.html

Bureaucrats Don't Want to Win the Drug War:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1220/a01.html

You, too, can participate in reforming drug laws. Please see our Media
Activism Resources ( http://www.mapinc.org/resource/ ), help Newshawk
articles ( http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm ) or join our editing team
by contacting Jo-D Harrison at jo-d [at] mapinc.org.