IP: War On Drugs Targets Tech

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

War On Drugs Targets Tech
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/zd/20010202/tc/war_on_drugs_targets_tech_1.html

Friday February 02 01:16 PM EST
War On Drugs Targets Tech

By Lewis Z. Koch Special To Interactive Week,

The new scapegoat for the failed War on Drugs is, of all things, technology.

The 120-page December 2000 International Crime Threat Assessment report -
created by basically every federal law enforcement agency in the U.S. - is
riddled with examples of how computer technology has advanced the cause of
national and international crime. Modern telecommunications and information
systems, state-of-the-art communications equipment, computers - they're all
to blame.

What the report fails to squarely acknowledge is that the oil that fuels
organized crime in the U.S. and abroad, including terrorist organizations,
is profit from the trade in illegal drugs bound for the U.S. - billions of
dollars in profit from drug sales that enhance the power of international
crime cartels and their ability to corrupt police, judges and governmental
officials from Tijuana to Tanzania.

"Through the use of computers, international criminals have an
unprecedented capability to obtain, process and protect information and
sidestep law enforcement investigations," the report stated. "They can use
the interactive capabilities of advanced computers and telecommunications
systems to plot marketing strategies for drugs and other illicit
commodities, to find the most efficient routes and methods for smuggling
and moving money in the financial system and to create false trails for law
enforcement or banking security."

It goes on to assert: "More threateningly, some criminal organizations
appear to be adept at using technology for counterintelligence purposes and
for tracking law enforcement activities."

In other words, it's not our flawed drug policy that's to blame - it's new
technology.

Where All This Began

In 1937, Harry J. Anslinger, six years into his 30-year-reign as director
at the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, testified before the U.S. Senate on
behalf of the "Marihuana Tax Act." This delighted the Hearst newspapers,
which, lacking a real war to increase newspaper sales, launched an all-out
battle against demon marijuana. Here are a few excerpts from Anslinger's
sworn testimony. Clearly, our drug policy traces its roots to reasoning
that was as racist and alarmist as it was wildly inaccurate:

* "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are
Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz
and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana can cause white women
to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."

* "The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate
races."

* "Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity,
criminality and death."

* "Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind."

With Hearst's backing, Anslinger's war on marijuana escalated to an all-out
war on narcotics.

<snip>



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