A: Link it with the "War On Terrorism".
It looks like the Drug Warriors are up to their old tricks again. Realizing that "mandatory minimums," a practice initiated with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, are growing increasingly unpopular (to the tune of 61% opposition) with Americans, the Bush Administration, for the second time, is attempting to link nonviolent drug use with the War On Islam (i.e. the "War On Terrorism").
Yes, to combat the will of the American people, the Bush Administration is saying that the use of some drugs aids international terrorism and that if you use these suspect drugs (even if you take one drag from a marijuana cigarette), you're aiding terrorists.
See, instead of actually engaging in an intellectual discussion of the negative results of the War On Some Drugs with the likes of Republican Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson and Detroit Police Chief Jerry Oliver, the Drug Warriors in D.C. would rather trick Americans into thinking that locking people up for years, even decades, for nonviolent drug use is the pro-American thing to do. In addition, they would like to sweep stories of the success of medical marijuana under the rug. For example, Peter McWilliams, an HIV/AIDS patient who had to take numerous prescription drugs ("drug cocktails") to treat his HIV/AIDS, was able to keep the drugs down using marijuana. The DEA, of course, did not like this one bit, so they conducted a raid on his home, stole his property, and arrested him for possession. He died not too long after as a result of not being able to keep his HIV/AIDS drugs down.
Yet the War On Some Drugs continues...
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