Pot times July 17, 2005
Misplaced Strategy In The Drug War
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1127/a02.htmlNewshawk: Herb
Pubdate: Sun, 17 Jul 2005 MISPLACED STRATEGY IN THE DRUG WAR
Source: Roanoke Times (VA)
Copyright: 2005 Roanoke Times
Contact:
karen.trout@roanoke.com
Website: http://www.roanoke.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm
(Cannabis)
The Bush administration wages a misguided campaign against cancer patients using
medical marijuana, as casualties increase on the meth front.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy insists that marijuana
remains the most substantial drug threat to society. The pronouncement
proves yet again that when it comes to identifying the correct enemy, the Bush
administration misinterprets intelligence.
Those fighting the drug war from the trenches know the enemy well:
methamphetamine. And they know it is gaining ground. Meth has
continued its relentless march eastward, and has replaced the prescription drug
OxyContin as the biggest drug problem facing Southwest Virginia. The
highly addictive drug ( once or twice is enough to hook users ) is cheap,
relatively easy to concoct by mixing a volatile batch of fertilizer and cold
medicine, and its availability is not solely dependent upon smugglers or the
black market.
The White House should listen to states battling meth on the frontline to
formulate a comprehensive strategy.
The quick fix, readily prescribed by politicians, turns over-the-counter cold
remedies into controlled substances. By locking up pseudoephedrine, one of
the key ingredients in meth's recipe, bathtub labs sink.
Oklahoma claims some success in shutting down meth labs by limiting access to
drugs like Sudafed and Nyquil.
And cold medicine manufacturers are slowly responding to the meth threat by
changing the formula to another active ingredient that can't be cooked into
meth.
That should help some. But as the National Association of Counties points
out in a recent study of the rise and spread of meth, the problem isn't likely
to go away unless the federal government changes tactics.
Funds for local law enforcement to fight illegal drugs have continued to dry up
as resources are diverted to homeland security. Treatment and prevention
programs have also suffered substantial losses.
The administration proposes slicing from next year's budget an additional $804
million that would have been used to fund regional drug fighting efforts.
If those cuts stand, meth will continue its relentless advance, leaving
municipalities to absorb the exorbitant costs of cleaning dangerous labs,
housing additional prisoners and caring for a rising number of children falling
into the care of the child welfare system.
More resources should be allocated not only to stop the spread and manufacture
of meth, but to treat addicts and prevent the next generation of users.
That will require a comprehensive strategy and the deployment of resources to
carry it out.
Neither is likely to happen as long as the administration views today's enemy in
the drug war as a cancer victim growing marijuana on the windowsill rather than
the meth addict mixing a batch of pungent chemicals that could blow up the
neighborhood.
