Drug Czar's Inhalant Press Conference 'Window Dressing' for Failed Strategy, MPP Charges

The group says real problems are being ignored in the pursuit of marijuana, which is now legal for medical purposes in several states.

Drug Czar John Walters Photo courtesy: busybusybusy.com

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Drug Czar John Walters' scheduled appearance at a press conference this morning to announce a new SAMHSA report on the dangers of teen inhalant abuse flies in the face of his office's misplaced priorities, officials of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. said today.

MPP noted that Walters' just-released National Drug Control Strategy virtually ignores deadly inhalants while continuing Walters' obsessive focus on marijuana, the least dangerous of illicit drugs.

"It's long been known that inhalants kill, but John Walters has ignored the problem since he became drug czar, while maintaining an obsessive focus on marijuana," said Aaron Houston, MPP's director of government relations.

"The 2008 National Drug Control Strategy mentions inhalants exactly twice, once in a graph and once in the acknowledgments section -- but it mentions marijuana 116 times, 28 in the introduction alone.

"As a parent, I'm appalled at the drug czar's priorities," Houston continued.

"As the media advisory for Walters' press conference points out, inhalants can kill the very first time you use them, and their use often comes before marijuana or other drugs. We absolutely think kids shouldn't smoke marijuana, but marijuana has never caused a fatal overdose, and it doesn't cause the sort of permanent damage to the brain, liver and other organs that inhalants like solvents and paint thinner can. The lives of our children are being sacrificed to John Walters' obsessive crusade against marijuana, and one window-dressing press conference isn't enough to change that."

Walters is scheduled to appear with SAMHSA officials and others at a 9:30 AM National Press Club news conference today to discuss the new inhalants report.

Source: MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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Kirk Muse March 13, 2008 5:49 pm (Pacific time)

Al Capone made most of his illegal money off alcohol prohibition. Capone had hundreds of politicians and alcohol prohibition agents and bureaucrats on his payroll. Is it unreasonable to assume that the drug lords are following Capone's business model? Is John Walters on the payroll or the drug lords? Probably.

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