| A WAR THAT IS CLOSER TO HOME |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Thursday, December 05 2002 |
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| San Diego--What do you call a room full of women from across the United States gearing up for war? No, not dangerous. Powerful. These women happen to be members of the National Foundation for Women Legislators. They are determined to change the strategy of a war that costs thousands of lives each year and puts the future of millions of young Americans at risk every single day. It's the war against drugs. If you think it doesn't affect you, think again. Your kids, their friends or your neighbors could be the next victim of drug abuse.
We have been fighting the so-called war against drugs for decades and have not been able to win it. Although the conflict stretches past our borders, we cannot lay all the blame on the drug king-pins and their entourage. For too long the United States has staged its war against drugs in the jungles of Andean countries like Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. But the drug that is all the rage at the moment is ecstasy, which is for the most part smuggled here from Europe by Russian and Israeli traffickers. For a mere ten bucks your sons and daughters can buy ecstasy in any night club, get wound up in the thrill of the moment and get brain damage for the rest of their lives.
It's high time we put up a mirror to ourselves and realize that if it were not for the insatiable appetite of the American drug consumer, this filthy, bloody business would not be destroying so many lives, financing terrorism and turning thugs and corrupt government officials into instant millionaires.
I think the women of the NFWL got a hold of that mirror well before our federal government did. As moderator of a panel discussion during their annual conference in San Diego, I sat there and listened to a laundry list of successful operations: Arrests of drug traffickers, seizures of tons of cocaine and other illicit drugs. But at the same time the numbers spoke for themselves. There is an increase in drug consumption among young people in Mexico and the United States.
No drug Czar, King or Queen or whatever title you give to the job has been able to get to the soul of the nation. We have failed to reach the young people who are experimenting with the most dangerous drugs. That's why I was very pleased to see that women state legislators from around the country are taking the initiative to change the focus of the war against drugs.
They want to go back to their constituencies and try to reduce the consumption of drugs by implementing effective drug rehabilitation programs. They seemed to be very impressed with one they saw just south of the border in a Tijuana state prison. The second chance program is based on the use of vitamins, minerals and other natural techniques to heal the addict that is then taught skills that will help him earn a living and his self-respect.
Of course a multi-national problem requires a multi-national response. That is why in this conference the NFWL was joined not only by the Drug Enforcement Agency but also by officials from Mexico and Canada. Everyone has vowed to step up their efforts in the fields, the underground laboratories and at the borders. But the same effort needs to be put right here at home where illegal drugs are being consumed and ruining so many lives.
Maybe what this war needs is a woman's' touch. If women can run a household, raise a family, bring home the bacon and run an effective campaign for public office, they can create and push legislation that can put a drug addict on the right track. This war needs a good dose of compassion, the female kind. |
