Go to
http://abcnews.com/ for the skinny on John Stossel's recent hourlong special on the drug war.
See
http://thestraights.com/ for myriad connections between CADCA and Straight, Inc.
Here's my response just sort of set to the wind like the down of a dandilion. Please feel free to fwd, copy, paraphrase, embellish or refute and dialog on this.
"I am disappointed that Mr. Stossel simply glossed over the thousands of coalitions across the country who are working every day to reduce the demand for drugs, and helping keep our communities drug free." --General Arthur T. Dean, Chairman and CEO of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)
I would like to say that I'm disapointed in General Dean for making this rediculous statement. But that would not be true. CADCA is just another alter-ego of DFAF and, as such, this is just exactly the kind of hysterical group dementia I would expect from them.
You can't lose what you never had. That's true. You can't _keep_ what has never existed, either. Please, will someone tell me where, aside from Amish country or a map of Flat Earth, I can find this Utopian drug free community that CADCA cells are working so hard to maintain? I'd really like to see one some day, just as a novelty.
But in the more commonly accepted reality, after over 30 years of all out War On (some) Drugs, it still doesn't exist, not even in prison or in China where summary execution is used to attain that end. In my 37 years I've seen an awful lot of very unlikely things, but a reduction in the demand for psychotropic drugs has not been one of them.
Nonsensical statements like these permeate the airwaves, print media and even (especially) the classrooms where our children are supposed to be learning reason, literacy and the civil arts. They all seem to originate from this unimaginably well funded, tightly knit, carefully camouflaged (and I might add intentionally ignorant and insular) group of public policy investors who have taken this nation for a ride for far too long now. We should all be ashamed of having let ourselves be taken in this way.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Betsy Glick ~ (703) 706-0560 x246
July 31, 2002
CONTACT: Cliff Kai ~ (703) 706-0560 x224
ABC NEWS' "WAR ON DRUGS" PROGRAM FAILS TO ADDRESS DEMAND FOR DRUGS
ALEXANDRIA, VA-Last night, ABC NEWS presented an hour long special entitled "War on Drugs: A War on Ourselves," hosted and reported by John Stossel. While the show raised several important questions and made some compelling arguments, Stossel failed to get a balanced viewpoint by looking at what creates the demand for drugs and how we can quell that need.
General Arthur T. Dean, Chairman and CEO of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) said, "I am disappointed that Mr. Stossel simply glossed over the thousands of coalitions across the country who are working every day to reduce the demand for drugs, and helping keep our communities drug free." Dean noted, "While I believe there is a need for discussions in the public arena, I firmly and unequivocally believe that all illegal drugs must remain illegal, and there is no room for negotiation on that."
A central argument of last night's show was that the government should not waste millions of dollars and badly-needed law enforcement manpower to arrest and convict those who are simply carrying drugs, such as marijuana. However, recent statistics discount the program's insinuation that a considerable number of prison inmates are incarcerated simply because of drug possession. Many inmates who may have committed more serious crimes, such as major drug sales or robbery, are sent to prison for drug possession after working out a plea agreement with prosecutors. In Florida, where approximately 60,000 individuals are incarcerated, only 93 were for possession of marijuana. Most plead down from more serious charges or were repeat offenders.
CADCA, and its more than 5,000 members are strongly dedicated to quell the demand for drugs. "If we can get kids, teens and adults to stop taking drugs and having a dependency on them, then there won't be a need for this seemingly never-ending supply of drugs. I really hope to see continued public attention and funding focused toward this aspect of the war on drugs," General Dean said.
General Dean will be available for media interviews this afternoon. Please contact either Betsy Glick or Cliff Kai at the phone numbers and extensions above to schedule an interview.
# # #
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) is the premier national membership organization providing training, information and support to anti-drug coalitions across the country. Community anti-drug coalitions are local partnerships between parents, teachers, young people, law enforcement, health providers, the faith community, business and civic leaders, elected officials and concerned citizens who unite and mobilize to make their communities safe, healthy and drug-free -- one community at a time.
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