DA Weighs In: Don't Legalize Drugs

[In the Weekly Alibi's previous edition (Nov. 11-17), Governor Gary Johnson provided the rationale why he favors drug legalization. This week's edition carried an article written by Bernalillo County District Attorney Jeff Romero. Romero wrote in opposition to drug legalization. We include excerpts from Romero's answer. While Romero may be a skilled attorney and district attorney, his comments illustrate he is a poor social scientist.]

ROMERO: Governor Gary Johnson advocates the legalization or decriminalization of drugs. The governor begins by stating that the War on Drugs has been a failure. The ascertion is misinformed. The truth is that with vigorous prosecution and enforcement of existing drug laws for the past two and a half years, narcotics trafficking cases coming through the Bernalillo County District Attorney's office have decreased dramatically... compared to the first quarter of 1996, drug trafficking cases coming through the District Attorney's office decreased by more than 50%... Bernalillo County is a crossroads for drug traffickers... Law enforcement seems powerless to stem the tide of an ever increasing number of drug dealers... To address these problems, the staffing in the Narcotics Trafficking Bureau of the District Attorney's office was increased from four prosecutors to its present seven prosecutors.

FACTS: Drug use has increased over the past two and a half years. From the The National Drug Control Strategy, 1999, we find figures from 1993 through 1997 for high school students. These individuals represent our future. They are the best metric to measure our progress with the War on Drugs. NOTE: These figures combine demographics on students. In many cases, figures on minority students are significantly higher.

Lifetime marijuana use increased 43.6%
Current marijuana use increased 48.0%
Lifetime powder cocaine use increased 67.3%
Current powder cocaine use increased 73.7%
Lifetime crack cociane use increased 80.8%
Lifetime injected drug use increased 50.0%

ROMERO: In 1996, the year before I took office, we experienced 74 murders in Bernalillo County. Of those, 48, or nearly two-thirds, involved drugs. Most involved gangs.

FACTS: The War on Drugs creates an artificial and illegal market for products Americans want. We do not do enough to reduce the demand for these substances. Instead our national, state and local policies focus on the supply. By restricting the supply, we increase the price of illegal drugs. We thus create a "profit motive" that encourages distribution. Historically, individual "street pharmacists" peddled their wares. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, due to the depressed economy, illegal drug sales became big business. Gangs soon replaced the individuals. Increased competition and police efforts resulted in the gangs arming themselves. We have seen an "arms race" in our cities, suburbs and ghettos. The result is a WAR OF VIOLENCE across our country.

ROMERO: New Mexico is a poor sate, and we do not have the financial resources to treat the increased number of addicts we will experience if drugs are legalized or decriminalized.

FACTS: Romero is right on one thing, New Mexico is a poor state. U.S. Census reports the state is the most impoverished in the nation. As such, we do not have the resources to conduct a major war against drug dealers, gangs and organized crime. Figures from the NDCS (1999) show we have invested more in prisons than in institutions of higher learning during the decade. New Mexico cannot shoulder the responsibility of more prisoners from the War on Drugs. The state recently decided to subcontract the administration of some of our prisons. We have seen a number of unacceptable incidents due to these cost cutting measures. While an increase in the number of addicts is not a socially desired goal, taxes from legal drug sales could provide programs for addiction, cessation and abstinence. We have little money for these efforts at this time.

ROMERO: As a direct result of [these] policies, we have literally driven many, but not all, drug dealers off the streets and indoors. It is not as easy for them to sell drugs as it used to be. They can no longer ply their poisonous trade as openly as they did in 1996. Drug dealers are now more cautious and afraid to sell to anyone other than those they know and trust.

FACTS: Our War on Drug policy has effectively driven the lines of distribution and supply underground, yet it has not reduced overall use in the decade. This is similar to the Vietnam conflict. The North Vietnamese built elaborate systems of tunnels throughout the countryside and skirted around our lines of defense. We could not win that war. We cannot win this one.

ROMERO: The governor should acknowledge that we have made geat strides in reducing drug use in the United States. Now is not the time to give up... In 1985 there were 5.3 million cocaine users in the U.S. By 1994, that number had declined to approximately 1.4 million.

FACTS: Romero is roughly correct, yet I am surprised he did not include figures for 1995 through 1997. In 1995, lifetime cocaine use again headed upwards -- to 1.5 million users. Use continued to increase in 1996 to 1.7 million users. It dropped down to the 1995 level in 1997 (the latest available statistics). Is cocaine use going up or are we making "great strides" as Romero claims? For whatever reason, cocaine use dropped dramatically between 1985 and 1990. We have seen relatively level usage throughout the 1990s. Yet, we pay more money each year to support the War on Drugs.

ROMERO: Since 1979 drug use has dropped for those between the ages of 12 and 34. Interestingly enough, it has not dropped for the age group 35 and older.

FACTS: As shown earlier, drug use has increased significantly for high school age youth. Romero says drug use has not dropped for those 35 or older. He has applied a "political spin" to this statistic. The reality is that it has gone up. It is easy to manipulate figures or create arbitrary categories to demonstrate success or failure with the War on Drugs. It is hard to finesse one category -- the number of deaths: In 1979, 7,101 Americans died as a result of drug-induced causes (not just illegal substances). In 1996, this number rose to 14,843. This represents a 109% increase. For African Americans, the problem is greater. This cultural group witnessed a 199% increase in drug-induced deaths in the twenty year period.

While 14,000+ deaths are too many, we must acknowledge that over 100,000 people die each year from alcohol-associated causes. Over 500,000 Americans die each year from tobacco-related illnesses. These products line our supermarkets and convenience stores. They are readily available to our kids, teens and youth. Companies aggressively market and promote their harmful and addictive products. It is clearly time for our society to Just Say Know to the general problem of substance abuse in this country.