As the week progressed, it became apparent that the two stories are not only closely related, but together, may represent an important watershed in the public's understanding of just how feckless and destructive our drug policy really is.
Those who follow drug policy news closely have been aware for some time of the growing disconnect between public opinion and those who implement policy. This was first manifest when Arizona and California passed 'medical marijuana' initiatives in 1996 over the strenuous objections of high ranking state and federal officials; the perception was further strengthened by passage of similar initiatives in 1998.
In 2000, California's Proposition 36 mandating treatment instead of
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incarceration extended the scope of the public's dissatisfaction with the drug war into the realm of its reliance on punishment.
Significantly, in passing 36, voters disregarded the opposition of many of the media sources which had supported 215. Subsequently, the enthusiastic reception accorded "Traffic" and the results of the latest Pew Survey have suggested to thoughtful columnists and editorial writers that public dissatisfaction with the drug war may run even deeper than they first suspected.
In this setting, the nomination of a proponent of interdiction like Walters, who recently spoke scornfully of the very concept of 'treatment,' must be a bitter disappointment for those who had read the failure of the Bush team to quickly select a drug czar as a shift away from his father's hard line on drugs.
When the Senate...
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By by Tom O'Connell M.D.
