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Editorial:
"All
the
news
that's
fit
to...
er...
that
doesn't
question
the
status
quo."
7/17/97
Editorial
On February 17 of this year, the Australian National Drug and Research
Centre conducted a study of the physical and psychological effects of long-term
marijuana use (averaging 19 years) on 268 subjects. Conclusion: There seemed
to be no significant impact on health. According to chief investigator
David Reilly, "The results seem unremarkable -- the exceptional thing
is that the respondents are unexceptional."
In the April edition of The American Journal of Public Health, Dr. Stephen
Sidney writes about a long-term (12-year) study undertaken by Kaiser Permanente,
a medical insurer/provider, and therefore an entity with a fiduciary interest
in the integrity of the results, into the mortality rates of marijuana
smokers. The study population comprised 65,171 subjects aged 15 through
49 years. Conclusion: Marijuana use had little effect on non-AIDS mortality
in men and on total mortality in women. (Am J Public Health. 1997;87:585-590)
On July 9, 1997, 37 leading physicians including Dr. Joseph B. Martin,
the new dean of Harvard's Medical School, Dr. Lonnie Bristow, past president
of the American Medical Association, Dr. David C. Lewis, director of Brown
University's Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, and several former
Reagan and Bush administration health officials, announced the formation
of Physician Leadership on National Drug Policy. Declaring that "the
current criminal justice-driven approach is not reducing, let alone controlling,
drug abuse in America," they called for the U.S. to explore "harm
reduction" approaches to substance use and abuse which rely more upon
medical science and public health than on public hysteria and incarceration.
On July 10, 1997, researchers at the Institute for Social and Preventive
Medicine at the University of Zurich released the final report on Switzerland's
3-year heroin prescription trial. (On the web at http://www.lindesmith.org/presumm.html).
Conclusion: The carefully supervised provision of heroin to long-term addicts
with a history of failure in other treatment modalities resulted in a significant
decrease in crime, mortality, disease transmission, treatment failure,
and unemployment, at a substantial savings over other, less successful
treatment methods.
These four events have much in common beyond their subject matter. Each
is of international significance. Each represents, in unambiguous and scientifically
sound terms, a challenge to the very underpinnings of prohibitionist drug
policies. Yet, most importantly, each of these stories was virtually ignored
by nearly every major U.S. news source.
Why has the mainstream press, which chomps at the bit to put every new
drug scare on page one, burying this news?
The fact is that today`s media is owned, nearly totally, by a small
(and shrinking) group of mega-corporations whose financial holdings extend
far beyond newspapers and television stations. These entities have much
to gain by currying favor with a government addicted to bloated Drug War
budgets and campaign contributions from Drug War profiteers. (See The Netizen
in the current issue of WIRED for a discussion of Big Media's lobbying
efforts.) It would also be interesting to know whether and exactly how
much financial interest these media conglomerates have in the industries
that profit from the Drug War...but that is another matter for another
day.
In any case, it has become clear that "All the news that's fit
to print" is a very subjective standard. That leaves it up to those
of us who understand that the War on Drugs is both morally and intellectually
bankrupt to tell the truth. Whether this means pressuring major media outlets
through letters and such, exchanging and disseminating information via
the Internet, informing and supporting responsible alternative media sources,
or simply carrying forth our message in the human interactions of our daily
lives, it is imperative that we take responsibility for educating our fellow
citizens. Recent experience shows that we cannot rely on Big Media to investigate
or expose the big lies behind the War on Drugs. Because as long as they
can maintain the appearance of credibility while playing the game, the
New York Times might just find the that the truth doesn't quite "fit."
Adam J. Smith
Associate Director,
Drug Reform Coordination Network
-- END --
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Issue #3, 7/17/97
Past Alerts: Civil Asset Forfeiture -- Or, Henry Hyde forfeits | Web Site News: The ultimate Drug Policy Reform search engine!!! | Legal Brief: Peter McWilliams, Writer, TV Correspondent, Activist, Medical MJ User, going to trial in Michigan | Link of the Week: The Swiss Heroin Prescription Trial | Employment: Job opportunities in the movement | Quote of the Week: What part of "BLACK MARKET" doesn't President Clinton understand? | Editorial: "All the news that's fit to... er... that doesn't question the status quo."
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