NORMLizer - BIZARRE DRUG CZAR

In December 2007, UN Drug Czar Antonio Maria Costa made a rare appearance before the drug-law reform community to give the keynote address at the biannual conference of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) in New Orleans. It appears that we made quite an impression. Speaking in Vienna this past March, Costa commented on his brief appearance with this attack: “I attended the meeting of the DPA in New Orleans last December—1,200 participants, 1,000 lunatics, 200 good people to talk to. The other ones were obviously on drugs.”

Mr. Costa also told The New York Times this past March that pot use poses a greater danger to society than heroin or cocaine.

Calling us crazy would be ironic if it weren’t so insulting. But unlike Mr. Costa, I’ve chosen not to express my thoughts with epithets. Rather, I’ve decided to simply post some of Mr. Costa’s previous statements and let HIGH TIMES readers decide which of us is “obviously on drugs”:

• “Today the harmful characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin.” (The London Telegraph, June 27, 2006)

• “Governments and societies must keep their nerve and avoid being swayed by misguided notions of tolerance …. Amid all the libertarian talk about the right of individuals to engage in dangerous practices provided no one else gets hurt, certain key facts are easily forgotten. First, cannabis is a dangerous drug—not just to the individuals who use it …. Evidence of the damage to mental health caused by cannabis use, from loss of concentration to paranoia, aggressiveness and outright psychosis, is mounting and cannot be ignored.” (Commentary in the Independent, March 27, 2007)

• “The links between organized crime, drug trafficking, drug consumption, drug money, arms trafficking and terrorism become clearer every day. We know that even the occasional marijuana smoker is a link in a much longer and more dangerous chain.” (Quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, June 27, 2005)

• “Think also of the fact that more and more people are voluntarily seeking treatment for cannabis-abuse problems and that evidence is fast mounting that even casual abuse of Ecstasy can lead to long-term brain damage. So recreational drug abuse can’t be safe, can it?” (From a speech delivered on June 26, 2003)

—Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML

A complete and updated listing of state and federal laws, as well as annual numbers for cannabis arrests, are published by NORML (norml.org or 888-67-NORML).