Abc News Special

[ReformMaryJaneLaws]

(This is another e-mail I received today. I can't believe ABC is behind this? With the Phil Donahue chat tonight and then John Stossel on Tuesday, this may be a start to something interesting.)







Dear friends,

Below is a message from ABC's John Stossel about his drug policy news special on Tuesday night at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.

I encourage everyone to watch it and ask others in your congregation to do the same.
Perhaps videotape it and arrange to show it at your church?

All the best,

Chuck Thomas
UUs for Drug Policy Reform
http://www.uudpr.org

ABC NEWS SPECIAL "WAR ON DRUGS, A WAR ON OURSELVES WITH JOHN STOSSEL" ON THIS TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2002 10 P.M EST

ABC has given me a full hour Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET for a show on the
drug war. I use the time to raise the question: Does the "War on Drugs"
do more harm than the drugs?
I think it does.
We know the terrible things drug abuse does, but we rarely consider the
terrible things drug prohibition does.
The government declaring drugs illegal doesn't mean people can't get them.
(We cannot even keep the drugs out of prisons -- how could we keep them out
of America?) It only means people get drugs on the black market, where
they pay more for them.
This creates the nasty, unintended consequences of the drug war:
l. It sucks children into the underworld.
Why should a kid from a poor neighborhood work at McDonald's, when he can
make 10 times the money selling drugs? Those who resist the temptation
are heroic. The neighborhood role models, the people with the best cars
and the best clothing, are drug dealers. Who commands respect in the
neighborhood? Criminals! Had I grown up there, I bet I would have
succumbed. We interview the kids.
2. It corrupts cops.
How many cops turn down a bribe that would double their pay? We'll show
video of a police officer taking the money.
3. It corrupts entire countries.
We go to Colombia, which now produces most of America's heroin and
cocaine. I don't recommend vacationing there. Colombia is now the world
leader in kidnappings. Murder is common. There have already been 15
attempts on the life of Colombia's next president; he's decided to stay in
Europe until his inauguration next month. Drug money trumps law.
4. It creates crime.
Films like "Reefer Madness" (we'll show you a clip) suggested people take
drugs and go crazy. In reality, people rarely get violent because they're
high on drugs.
Most drugs users get high privately, live a reasonably normal life, and
eventually quit. The violence we associate with drugs happens because
warring dealers arm themselves to protect their turf, and because addicts
steal to pay the high prices for drugs. Nicotine is about as addictive as
cocaine or heroin, but few people rob 7-11s to get Marlboros or Budweiser.
Drugs hurt people, but it's the law that causes most of the crime.
Alcohol prohibition gave rise to criminals like Al Capone; drug
prohibition is making criminals even richer. The State Department says
that's how Osama bin Laden got some of his money.
So what should be done?
I talk to a Bronx priest who argues that life would be better if drugs
were legal. "Legal means control," says Father Joseph Kane. "Illegal means
the bad guys have control."
California Judge James Gray agrees. "Hold people accountable for what they
do, not for what they put into their bodies," he says.
The head of the DEA, Asa Hutchinson, calls these arguments "giving in."
I go to Europe to look at the "Dutch experiment" which separated "hard" and
"soft" drugs by legalizing the sale of marijuana in licensed "coffee
shops." The menus offer marijuana joints, baggies, teas and chocolates.
Despite legalization, fewer Dutch teens use marijuana than American teens.
Today police in most of Europe ignore marijuana use. In Spain, Italy and
Luxembourg, they've decriminalized most drug use, and in Portugal
recently, all drug use. Switzerland and a few other countries now
prescribe heroin to some addicts. I visit a Rotterdam priest who allows
addicts to smoke and inject heroin in "user rooms" in the church basement.
Rotterdam's local police superintendent says the problem is "bigger" when
the police interfere.
LEGAL drugs sounds frightening -- but the DRUG WAR is frightening too.
Legal drugs might lead more Americans to experiment, but would it create a
health crisis? I suspect use would go up, and then down, as it did with
crack. People aren't endlessly foolish.
In any case, don't we own our own bodies? Whose decision is it to control
what we put in our own bodies? Ours? Or the state's?

[sidious]

That's one hell of a lot of valid points....even if they were to adopt the same as the Dutch and legalize it in certain places...they also do it in Denmark.....it would let the police concern themselves more to the harder drugs....hell even tax it like they tax everything else and put the profits in to the health service....imagine the buying power of a country....."Excuse me Mr drug baron....i'd like to purchase 1000 tonnes of MJ......and in return i'll keep coming back to you as long as you stop selling Harder drugs in my country"......there would be so much demand for MJ that Columbia would stop selling coke to concentrate on selling MJ.....it's the money they want...they dont care if it's daffodills they're growing....as long as there's a demand there will allways be a supply....."Money talks and bullshit walks".....Peace out....Sid

[overgrowray]

i'm going to try really hard to watch it but i'll probably still forget.... fuck it i'm writing it on my arm, i might not miss it now!

[phunkyphil]

sounds good.. i wish i was able to watch it

though im excited that the mainstream is finally starting to be given an alternate perspective on the drug war.. it seems that slowly but surely we are moving towards world decriminalization.. lets keep our fingers crossed that well be able to see it in our lifetimes

[overgrowray]

hey i didn't miss it, in fact its still writtin on my arm. I watched it with my mom. I think it was too short, they said a lot more theres so much more to be said. I was happy with it though, i hope a lot of nonsmokers watched it and now have diffrent views on pot. Even if it only changed one persons mind about whut they think about pot it was worth being on.

[ReformMaryJaneLaws]

I was really impressed with what I saw. But either the storm screwed our local ABC tower or it was cut for content after the first 35 minutes. But the screen was blank until news time. I was pissed!!!!



I hope people soaked in the points he was making and overgrow is right, if one person's mind was changed then that's a great step for us.

[Mayor_LaLa]

I watched, and he stuck to REAL numbers, and not stats from some "Government" study on MJ. He did an excellent job of opening that door of doubt for the non-smokers, and it is our turn now to walk through the door, and be sure that it remains open.
Mr. Ass (hutchinson) made it very clear that he would slam that door shut again whenever he felt like it.

Doesn't just amaze you that these guys think that they can continue with all this CRAP they have been pulling for years, and that a new generation will not call them down for those actions? Do they think that the people that voted them in to office are going to live forever? Perhaps he is hoping that Dictator Bush will official declare "martial law" and he won't have to worry about opposition, because he can then just look people up for the hell of it.... scarey though, eh?

Anyway, enough of my babble this morning..... just wanted to chime in on the show. Off to send my emails to every government officials that depends on my vote to make it into office.

Happy hunting ("Ladies and Gentlemen, Politicians hunting season is officially OPENED.")

LaLa

[roach]

I am very glad to see legalization/decriminalization discussed 'a little' more openly. Non 'smokers/tokers' need 'years' of truth to change the opinions ,that years of lies have pounded into their heads.
The shows are 'a step' in the right direction.

[MtnFlower25]

I'm sorry I missed the show, I knew it was on but just figured it would be more about the harder drug traffiking. If I'd known it would cover MJ I definitely would have watched.

One point I'd like to make is that we should be striving to decriminalize MJ not to insist on labeling it a "medicninal" drug. Let's keep it as a recreational substance along the same lines as cigarettes and booze otherwise we'll never have easy access to it. I mean, can you get morphine? That's a pharmaceutical but unless you're dying of cancer you can't buy that.

This whole medicinal definition of MJ seems to be a way to trick us into giving up legal access to it.

[roach]

I think it is like comparing apples to oranges ,to compare marijuana to heroin. Anyone who has studied up ,even just a little should realize this.


The politicians in America are fools to the 'n' th degree.

[ReformMaryJaneLaws]

Originally posted by Reform MaryJane Laws
I was really impressed with what I saw. But either the storm screwed our local ABC tower or it was cut for content after the first 35 minutes. But the screen was blank until news time. I was pissed!!!!

I emailed the programming director at the station asking if it was the storm or what(of course, there was more to the letter but that was the point). He emailed me back saying that they don't cave to pressure(amongst other things)and to prove it, he would get permission from ABC to re-air it. I just got another email and he got permission to do it and he'll let me know when they're going to show it.

It pays to speak up about EVERYTHING!

[Mavrick]

I just spent the last half hour reading over this whole forum... I don't care if it says you have to be 18 to register cause the internet gives you something life cannot, freedom to do whatever the hell u want as long as you dont get caught. So if your reading my reply i say HELL YA leagalize it, you know maybe if people payed taxes on drugs like they do on cigaretts we could pay for the whole police force just by the drugs that we would sell... instead of having people steal stuff like oxyconton or whatever the hell it is.

[roach]

Excellent !

[overgrowray]

good job RMJL thats great, i hope ya get to see the whole thing this time.

[roach]

http://abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/sto...gs_020730.html