The SF Bay Guardian -- Oct. 13 - Oct. 19, 2004
The other crazy war
By Rebecca Kaplan
THE UNITED STATES is bogged down in a costly, unjust, and ineffective war.
The war was launched by a right-wing Republican president who claimed it was
in response to a dangerous threat, but we now know the pretext was untrue.
The costs of the war have been rising constantly, with no evidence that it
has accomplished anything. In fact, it has made the situation far worse. The
Americans who are suffering the most under this war are disproportionately
young people, people of color, and low-income people. Even those not
directly caught up in the war are suffering from the financial devastation
it's wreaking on the country's budgets. The war has also been used to
justify a widespread loss of civil liberties that impacts all of us, and
we're all worse off from the costs to basic human decency the fear-mongering
has sparked.
The president who launched the war called it "an all-out global war on the
... menace" and, in seeking support from Congress, said the United States is
facing "cold-blooded underworld networks." These claims were used to demand
vast and ever increasing budgets for the war and the right to conduct
warrantless searches and seizures, even searches of Americans within the
United States.
Fortunately, public support for this war has been waning, with even leading
Republicans expressing grave doubts about it. Prominent public leaders like
Jimmy Carter have denounced it, and Nov. 2, one Bay Area city is poised to
make a strong and principled statement at the ballot that it's time to bring
this war to an end.
While all of the above statements could be applied to George W. Bush's war
on Iraq, they refer to Richard Nixon's "war on marijuana." Here are a few
chilling similarities:
False pretenses
In 1972 a federal government commission appointed by Nixon
provided its report on marijuana, saying: "Most users, young and old,
demonstrate an average or above-average degree of social functioning,
academic achievement, and job performance.... In sum, the weight of the
evidence is that marihuana does not cause violent or aggressive behavior; if
anything marihuana serves to inhibit the expression of such behavior....
Neither the marihuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a
danger to public safety" (Shafer Commission Report, 1972).
Budget busting
In the years since the commission recommended that marijuana
offenses not be a crime, more than 15 million people have been arrested for
pot offenses, and funding for this war keeps increasing. New policies
include testing employees' hair to see if they had used marijuana in the
distant past and denying student loans for marijuana possession -- but not
for rape.
Racial profiling
The Nixon tapes provide an inside look at the motivation
for criminalizing marijuana. Nixon claimed that marijuana is associated with
"blacks," "homos," "Jews," and "radical demonstrators." He argued that
criminal penalties for marijuana would be a good excuse to arrest peace
activists and civil rights marchers. Nixon went on to say, "That's why the
Communists and the left-wingers are pushing the stuff; they're trying to
destroy us." At one point on the tapes, Nixon takes a break from a tirade
against "fags" to say, "That's a funny thing, every one of the bastards that
are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the Christ is the matter
with the Jews, Bob, what is the matter with them?"
While it may not be a shock to learn Nixon promoted an entire national
policy based on prejudice and misinformation, it certainly should suggest
that people of conscience shouldn't back it.
This is why a broad coalition is supporting Measure Z on the Oakland ballot
Nov. 2, to call for an end to this costly and irrational war and to
immediately make private, adult marijuana offenses the lowest
law-enforcement priority. Nixon launched this war out of hatred and control.
We value our lives, justice, and each other too much to allow it to
continue.
For more information go to www.yesonz.org.
Rebecca Kaplan is an Oakland-based activist and community organizer.
