Drug enforcement follows double-standard
by Brian Shults, se news editor

    At the climax of the film Traffic, the U.S. drug czar, portrayed by Michael Douglas, resigns his post, stating he refuses to prosecute the 'war on drugs' because it is a declaration of war against our families.

    Such an attitude should scream true with at least a couple of politicians, namely Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and President George W. Bush. But the descending anvil of logic seems to have gone unnoticed.

    Publicly, they each take a stern anti-drug stance, opposing laws that mandate treatment over jail time for nonviolent offenders. Privately, they feel themselves and their families should be exempt from the harsh realities they publicly endorse.

    Recently, Noelle Bush, Jeb BushÕs daughter and presidential niece, was caught in a drug rehabilitation center with cocaine. This is her third drug-related charge in 2002; she is not in jail and never has served any sentence.

    Earlier in the year she forged a sedative prescription, went to rehab and since then has been caught twice with illegal drugs while in treatment (she was never prosecuted for the second charge and is presently only charged with cocaine possession).

    My intention is not to berate Ms. Bush. She has a personal problem that she alone can begin to solve. My point is that drugs and the "war on drugs"have directly or indirectly affected many of us. Often the situation has involved someone whom we care about and wish that they not be punished, but instead quit punishing themselves.

    Jeb Bush's policies and the legal standards to which his daughter are held are two different things. His daughter has received treatment for each of her possession charges instead of being incarcerated, but the general public is subject to the full extent of the law. This is unacceptable nepotism by a public official.

    Frequently, the rich and powerful conservatives who endorse strenuous anti-drug laws circumvent the system by using their clout and spending large sums of money for lawyers. Conversely, the drug laws disproportionately affect the poor and middle class.

    Wealth and power should not equate justice.

    The drug problem is not a problem that only concerns the poor; it concerns every citizen. Double standards serve no one.