RIDING THE THIRD RAIL

It is time to end the War on Drugs because:

• its fundamental premise (that prohibition is a workable policy) is flawed;
• its social costs far outweigh its supposed benefits;
• it creates violent crime, and breeds a subclass of untouchable, fabulously wealthy thugs, while incarcerating an ever-increasing number of nonviolent users;
• it is a waste of resources, as more and more tax dollars are lavished on enforcement without any diminution in drug availability;
• it spreads corruption throughout society, touching police forces, prosecutors, judges, and government agents;
• it tramples on constitutional freedoms and individual rights;
• and it destroys the lives of millions of Americans and their families.

Consider the plethora of TV specials questioning the drug war, the spate of new books raising peoples' consciousness, or the growing list of dignified, upstanding members of society going on record against the Drug War. And don't forget the 1996 passage of state initiatives on medical marijuana. When you run for office, you are naturally going to be talking to a lot of people on the street. When I first began campaigning, I would swallow hard before telling people why I thought we needed to challenge the War on Drugs. But I've found the people are way ahead of the politicians on this issue. At least 99% of the "normal," middle-and-working-class people I meet listen attentively, nodding their heads in agreement when I talk about:

• the crime that prohibition causes;
• the idiocy of attempting to legislate personal behavior;
• the cruelty of disallowing the use of marijuana for medical reasons;
• the threat to their liberties from a growing police state;
• and the injustice of locking up otherwise law-abiding, nonviolent citizens for "crimes" which they (or someone they know) commit every day.

In June, several prohibitionist groups sponsored a so-called "Marijuana Education Summit" in Orlando, FL. Clearly, the organizers were running scared; they refused to let citizens with opposing points of view speak at this taxpayer-supported event. A few of us slipped through, however. Amidst a sea of police and drug enforcement personnel, I found myself confronting former Drug Czar (and self-styled moral crusader) William Bennett, who was spinning out lie after lie about the dangers of marijuana. I asked him why he refused to admit that marijuana has been used as a medicine for 5000 years. "Cutting people's feet off and using hot coals has been used as medicine," he replied. "That doesn't mean it's medicine." And in some circles, Bennett's considered an intellectual!

So, after 30 years of working as a professional actor and performer, I now find myself in the unlikely role of running for Congress -- with one hand touching the "third rail" of American politics and the other reaching out to like-minded people in the drug-law-reform community for help and support. I may be the only one of my kind in 1998, but there will be more of me in 2000, and many more in the election after that. Taking this debate to the Congressional level is proof positive that the years of hard work by the reformers are bearing fruit.

It's time to stand up and say "enough!" -- before more lives are destroyed, more rights are abused and more gazillions of dollars are wasted. Together, let's end this madness!