Drug czar's desperation shows

Marijuana Policy Project sums up the recent release of the drug czar's unapologetic use of the taxpayer's money to campaign against common sense reform in drug policy. From the press release:

"This document signals that the administration will continue using tax dollars to campaign against common-sense reforms, while wasting billions on failed policies," said MPP Director of Government Relations Aaron Houston. "It is not a coincidence that John Walters took his junket to Denver, where voters dealt a stinging rebuke to the government's war on marijuana."

On Jan. 27, Walters' special assistant, David Murray, testified against medical marijuana legislation in New Mexico's Senate, but was sharply rebuffed by state legislators. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported, "Some of Murray's toughest criticism came from Republicans," and the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 34-6.

"While Walters continues to rail against supposed 'well-funded drug legalizers,' our efforts are dwarfed by the government's massive prohibition bureaucracy," Houston said. "The drug czar's office spends over four times as much on advertising alone as drug policy reform groups spend on everything we do put together -- salaries, rent, the whole works." A comparison of government drug- war budgets to those of reform groups is available here.

We've got them on the run folks. That the prohibitionists are reduced to personal insults is a sign of just how ineffective their propaganda has become and how effective the reform community has been in getting the truth out.