McCaffrey's War on Drugs Guided by Misinformation

Editor:
In General McCaffery's (shown in image below) recent letter to Governor Johnson, he claims that his publicly stated opinions are inconsistent with the goals of the national strategy and at odds with the view of the American people.

I stand by our Governor and his courageous call for legalization. With all due respect, I believe that it is McCaffrey who needs to re-examine his stance on this issue.

As a registered nurse, I have an ethical obligation to safeguard the public when health care and safety are affected by the incompetence, unethical or illegal practice of any person, and to protect the public from misinformation. McCaffrey's office has been involved in an ongoing campaign of misinformation designed to demonize and criminalize millions of Americans. The "war on drugs" is responsible for disease, crime, corruption, and violence. Drug addiction is a medical problem, not a criminal problem.

McCaffrey is a soldier and is not competent to practice medicine. It is not ethical for him to wage a war against the American people. McCaffrey, Gary Johnson, and I have something in common. We have all taken oaths to uphold and defend the Constitution. Unfortunately, it appears that McCaffrey has forsaken his oath. Rather than defending the American people, he is waging a brutal war against them. The drug war has been used as an excuse to legislate away our inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The "drug laws" he supports are based on racist intent and have destroyed millions of lives.

As a fellow soldier, I am asking McCaffrey to re-evaluate his actions, and to demonstrate the courage and responsibility to admit that he has been wrong.

This appeal comes from a personal standpoint as well. Although he insists that I don't exist, I'm one of the countless Americans who uses marijuana for medical reasons. He insists that there are no medical uses for marijuana, in spite of thousands of studies demonstrating the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid drugs. I am a good, peaceful and productive member of our society, but I'm forced to live in fear that I could lose my job, property, family, freedom, or even my life, because of my choice of medicine.

He views me as his enemy, an enemy that must be destroyed at all costs. He forgets that the best way to destroy the enemy is to make him your friend. I am offering him my hand in friendship and inviting him to begin peace talks. Governor Johnson had the courage to call for a public discussion of alternatives to this failed policy. Now it's time for both prohibitionists and drug users to demonstrate the courage to begin these talks. We must begin a dialog if we are to find solutions to the problems associated with drug addiction and abuse.

Working together, we can find ways to eliminate drug-related crime, violence and corruption. We can reduce drug use by children. We can decrease drug-related disease and death. We can live side by side as brothers, rather than living as oppressor and oppressed. The drug war has destroyed the lives of too many Americans. It's time for peace.