NYT:WH Searches for Balance in Drug Fight(focus has been on pot, not meth)

[DeepModem Mom]

White House Searches for Balance in Drug Fight
By KATE ZERNIKE
Published: August 19, 2005


NASHVILLE, Aug. 18 - Seeking to defuse a growing confrontation with members of Congress and local officials over drug policy, the Bush administration dispatched the attorney general and two other top officials here on Thursday to promise that the government was committed to battling methamphetamine....

***

The administration also vowed to make $16.2 million available in grants for treatment.

For several years the White House has focused the national antidrug strategy on marijuana, arguing that it is the most widely used drug, particularly among high school students, and can be a gateway to more serious drug use. Officials have continued to emphasize that in recent months, even as law enforcement officials across the country pleaded for more help fighting meth, a drug made using chemicals commonly found in cold medicine or on farms.

But local officials and members of Congress from both parties have argued increasingly loudly that meth, which is highly addictive, is the real problem. They say the administration has virtually ignored the problem despite the devastation it has caused in many parts of the middle of the country - increasing crime, crowding jails and leaving more children neglected or abandoned....

***

The comments here were remarkably different from ones earlier this summer when a spokesman for the drug policy office told Newsweek that people were "crying meth." In addition, other officials have said it makes sense to focus on marijuana, because there are about 15 million users of it, compared with about 1 million users of meth....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/19/politics/19drugs.html?hp&ex=1124424000&en=827a7b098481aac0&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[wli]

1. the "war on drugs" is pure prison-stuffing bull

The entire thing should be scrapped. Period. Pot, meth, crack, horse, whatever. I don't do any of it. I don't need to. Setting up "little people" to get raped and mutilated and caged for decades is no way to deal with socioeconomic issues that drive people to escapism and chemical masturbation.

[rodeodance]

2. so the focus was/is on pot--um... bunch of .......

[Trillo]

3. Well, never fear, non-illegal cold medicine users will

effectively be prevented from buying thier cold and allergy medicine like pseudoephedrine without jumping through hoops and paying more in the process.

The dualistic "Drug War" is singularly effective!

[Bobbieo]

5. Ingredients used to make "meth"

Cold and allergy medicine are the nice ingredients used to make "meth". How about battery acid added to the mixture?
Think I'm kidding????

[Mizmoon]

7. Welcome to DU Bobbieo

Battery acid - will wonders never cease?

[Trillo]

10. I have no idea whether you're kidding or not,

but one thing I can say is that if you have allergies or a cold, I'd recommend using a glass of water to chase the pills instead.

Health Care costs keep soaring, and this is new "War" is one more "little" cost soar for consumers--they all add up after awhile.

[DeepModem Mom]

16. Thanks for posting, Bobbieo -- welcome to DU!

[newyawker99]

20. Hi Bobbieo!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[depakid]

4. No different than any other INSANE Republican policy

Everything these ideologues touch is subject to some twisted hidden agenda.

[Warren Stupidity]

15. WOD = bipartisan insanity. nt.

[EC]

6. I'm beginning to think

they associate pot with dissidence, and that is why they hate it so much (other than the money angle). But all the RW dumb-dumbs spew that line "Pot Smoking Hippies" whenever talking about any protester.

[CheshireCat]

17. Focus on marijuana is part of the

culture war, which started in the 60's. Logic plays no part it the decision to focus on mj.

EC, your eyes have been opened on this issue.

[EC]

18. If we think about it, the culture war on this subject

started way before the 60's - it was used to jail blacks and other so called riff-raff in the 20's too, since it was mainly used by musicians then (although my Italian grandfather was a jazz clarinet player in New York and smoked)(now that I think about it they didn't like Italians either)so, I'm thinkin it was used in any bigoted crusade to jail undesirables....

I guess I'm an Undesirable to them...That's fine with me, I really stay away from creeps anyway....

[Gelliebeans]

21. Don't forget the scientists

and doctors who have used mj with their patients over the years. You know how the RW hates them scientists. :eyes:

[niallmac]

8. Yeah but meth is a really bad mojo.

I have to say the way Meth has been ignored in the propaganda is weird. The reason given: There are more marijuana users than meth users! Holy Crap! New Flash. Drugs are not all the same!
Meth is so very destructive physically and mentally. Since I was aware of the drug war BS back in the '60s I have wondered why the establishment could not bring itself to discuss the individual drugs. "All drugs are bad" is not a good approach because the hypocrisy is evident immediately. The drug wars, education and military service are used to control the lower middle class if I can conjure up a socio economic group right now. Whoa, is that a joint? Too bad off the streets for you. Hey, tired of your nowhere small town existence, then sign up for the U.S military corporate protection racket. Want an education? Sure! Its public, its mediocre, its all about respecting authority and nothing about questioning anything! My rich ass kids? Oh they're going to prep school.

[Tsiyu]

9. Why is meth an epidemic? Top two reasons:

A. They are cutting law enforcement funds even as they pay lip service to wanting to solve the problem. Meth interdiction requires specialized training and equipment and enough officers to keep up with the cooks.

B. Focusing on the benign marijuana plant makes a lot of $$$$ and the pharm companies love it. Plus it's a cost-effective, safe way to fill prisons and pad government bank accounts.

Our country is really rotting at the seams because of greed

[truthisfreedom]

11. working on stopping meth REDUCES profits for pharmco because it's made

of drugs they manufacture, readily available over-the-counter in cold remedies (pseudoephidrine, or sudafed) in most states... and if the administration does something about it, it will reduce drug company profits by billions and billions.

[Tsiyu]

14. True dat

Seems the folks in this administration look at the Drug War like they look at everything else: Use it to screw the people and MAKE LOTS OF $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ FOR OUR FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!


Wish people would wake up and hold them accountable for helping destroy America.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

19. According to Mike Ruppert...

a lot of that money is used to fund CIA Covert Ops... just like in the Iran Contra fiasco. And nobody that high up ever goes to jail.

[DrBloodmoney]

22. Don't forget that ...

pot smokers are a bit safer crowd to arrest. Lot less risk for the arresting officers and such. You never really hear about crazy pot-smokers getting violent or using weapons. But it's pretty dangerous to break up a cooking (meth) operation.

[kodi]

12. got a lot of whacked out pot heads in chemo going postal do we?

weed is such an easy target to make politicians look like they are actively seeking to protect people.

meth is worse than crack and so damned easy to get.

those 15 million weed smokers cause a helluva' lot less damage to society than 10% of those 1 million crankheads do.

[barbaraann]

13. There is an "Ask the White House" forum on meth tomorrow at 2 pm.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/ask/question.html

I know, I know. But it might be worth a try.