Re: Howard Dean on the Drug War

On 09-09-2003 02:23, in article
[EMAIL PROTECTED], "mars" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:

> from Marin for Howard Dean in 2004
> http://www.marinfordean.org/article_text.asp?articleid=194
> 
> War on Drugs
> 
> Public Health Problem
> 
> Dean maintains he doesn't "believe the war on drugs is a criminal
> matter; it's a public health matter. To throw users in jail is silly."


Right... That will last up to the convention when we have to give a tough on
drugs speech to counter conservative criticism about being soft on drugs.

> But he cannot stand state initiatives that seek to legalize medical
> marijuana. "I hate the idea of legislators and politicians practicing
> medicine," he says.

Then why not like initiatives?  That is the people telling the politicians
to but out.

 >Should the Feds be busting medical marijuana
> clubs? "Depends on the circumstances," he says. "In general, no."
Riiiiiiight. Notice the qualifier. That will allow him to continue the
sweeps while saying he is not mean.

 If
> he were President, Dean adds, he would force the Food and Drug
> Administration to evaluate medical marijuana, and he would be prepared
> to accept its findings.

Riiiiiiiiight.
> 
> Source: The Nation
> 
> 
> "I am in favor of really hammering dealers. You know they are
> merchants of death and destruction and misery. I believe the rest of
> the drug problem the casual users is a public health problem, not a
> criminal problem, and we ought to approach it using a medical model."


Casual users are sick, and drug dealerd need hammering.

Yup, sounds new and exciting to me.


> 
> "I particularly like something we're starting to experiment with in
> Vermont and which is further along in some states which is drug courts
> where when drugs are the problem the court has wide discretion to
> sentence people to rehabilitation.

Meaning he is a standard "forced rehab," prohibitionist.


> As a physician I was trained as a
> physician you know, sentencing people to rehabilitation when they
> quote-unquote didn't want to go was something that you didn't do, but
> you know now I think the drug problem is so serious that it's smarter
> frankly to send casual users of serious drugs to rehab rather than
> jail.


But we can't just leave them alone in freedom.

> And it's cheaper in the long run. Even though they will fail
> rehabilitation three or four or five times, that's what you have to
> understand about substance abusers.


They are lazy and unable to learn.

> From a medical point of view, as a
> physician, and also as a governor, I think we ought to treat drug
> abuse a public health problem.

Meaning handcuffed to the drug rehab clinic instead of
Jail.

> 
> "I'm not in favor of decriminalizing drugs. The reason is
The opposition would use it to defeat me.

>it sends a
> very bad message I think to young people, we already have a serious
> problem with the drugs that are legal, alcohol and tobacco, and adding
> a third drug, a series of drugs, is not a good idea.

Actually it is due to the substitution effect. But he would never delve so
deep.

But I do think we
> ought to use a medical model and not a criminal model for most cases."
Meaning handcuffed to forced rehab instead of a cage.

Way to Go John Dean.


> 
> Source: StoptheDrugWar.com
> 
> 
> Medical Marijuana
> 
> Gov. Howard Dean (D) signed legislation setting up a state task force
> to study how Vermont should go about protecting medical marijuana
> patients from arrest.


EJ