First, a tip of the hat to NPR for hosting an interview with Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance on yesterday's ATC. A visit to the DPA website is well worth your time, as they take issue with the whole concept of the "war on drugs;" it is also a great resource for young people wanting serious information on illegal drugs and their dangers. It's too bad NPR also didn't contact one of their usual think tanks, the libertarian CATO Institute, which also challenges the "war on drugs."Sadly, though, this interview is lost in the general smoke screen of John Burnett's whole series which accepts the basic premises of the "war on drugs." On the same ATC, Burnett has a piece that is critical of John Walters, the current "Drug Czar" - what a title! The main thrust of the piece is that the current "Drug Czar" is not pursuing the "war on drugs" with adequate vigor. From Burnett we learn that "Walters has also had rocky relations on Capital Hill; four members of Congress, all prominent drug warriors..." - prominent drug warriors, give me a break. And lest we as a nation slack off in this glorious drug war Burnett has these pearls of wisdom for us:
- "...what troubles people who’ve dedicated their lives to fighting drugs, is our short memory."
- "Antidrug activists say this is precisely the time not to back off."
- "If there’s anything 38 years of the drug war has taught us, it’s that we forget it at our peril."
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