Ron Paul: The Pot Candidate

32• NOVIMBIR I 88

~

w

c

w

Z I

Q

Although the two major political parties won't even discuss legalization as a means of dealing with "the drug problems," there is one presidential candidate on the ballot who is calling for legalization of all drugs as a major part of his campaign platform. If you plan to vote in the upcoming elections, you should read this profile of Ron Paul, Libertarian Candidate for president.

l': ."~~~: <.·~.v •

_

r"C

',c

.~

\. '--.__

--:_ . .

y the lim e you read thi s. the 1988 presidential electi on will only he a few weeks away. If vou're a ca n na bis co ns ume r; voti ng in this el ect ion will pm ba hlv be on e of th e must diffi -

B

cult decis ions YO U'H > ever mad e . Afte r all . the contende rs from both major parties aTC call ing for an expande d " War e n Drugs." Ho wever, there is o ne cand idate who wan ts 10 le gal ize AI..! . drugs. His na me is Dr. Hem Pau l and he represent s the Libert ari an Par ty. Pau l's Hallie will appear on ball ots ill al most every sta le . "" do n't think there s hou ld be any laws outlawing the use of dru gs," says Paul , 5:-( "It's always heen amazi ng to me how h ypocritica l the members of Congress have I W (' I1 , ta lking ab out dru gs, and getting political ben efit 0 111 of the issue, giving s peec hes on the HUIISC n (~or abou t hard d ru gs. while so me of them have been half-ine bri ated on alco hol. I th ink dru g laws are the nu mber one reas on why we have so much crime in th is country. an d if we se riously want to talk about reducin g cri me. we must get rill of d rug laws. The people who like the dru g laws are the peop le making money off the drugs, the Mafia-t ype organi zations." He mea ns it. As a four-t erm Hepuhlican Congressman from Texas between 1976 and 1984. Paul voted again st all fed era l legisla tion de s igne d to give governme nt more power to fight dru g use . " My voting reco rd could be c ha ract erized as libertaria n-free mar ket," he Si.lYS , " I prefer the term non -interv entioni st. " In Novembe r, Paul will be on rhe ballot in at least 45 s tales , and possibl y all 50 . along with the District of Columbia . if hallot access efforts are suc cess ful. His running male is Andre Marron. a one-time Libertaria n stat e legisl ator from Alaska, the on ly stale

By Greg Kaza

HIGH TIMES· 33

where ca nnabis c ul tivation is leg a l. Th e party is prohahl v stronge r in Ala sk a th an a ny othe r s ta te . In 1980 . Libe rtaria n pre s id e ntia l candidate Ed Cla rk, a n attorney, ga rn ere d 12 pe-rce nt of IIH' vote statewi de. In nu merous co mm u nit ie s , Cla rk ou tpu lle d [h- moc ra t J imm y Curte r a nd in depe ndent John Anderson. In 19B2. Dic k Rand olph , a th en-Libe rtaria n sta te legisl at or, receive-d 1;) 1H'ITent of th e vote in the race for gove rn or. Pe rha ps not coinc-i de nt al ly, officials in Ju nea u, th e sta te ca p ital. so me t imes d isc uss politi cs over a joint inst ead of a lcohol. tile prefe rred d rug of pol itic ia ns in the lower 49. Pa ul expects to perform wdl in Alask a this yea r. So me part y offi cials prt '4l ict he will finish second in the s tate this Nove mbe r.

T

he l.ibe- rta riun Partv ha s uttrart e-d r-on se-rva tives , tudi rul«. a nd lilu-ral s. Its pla tform is a swee pin g iudic-tnu-nt o! gO H'rJI4

Tilt' libe rta rian opposi tion to d ru g laws is twofold. First . they moral grou nds . A cen tral te net of Iibertariunis m l'xp lai n{'d hy Hothbanl is th at (" Try pc rstm is th e owne r of OPPO~t· drug laws o n

the ir own hod y: S(·e-o IHll y. libcrt a ri uns ut ili ze an f'('(JflOm ic a rgume nt to show th ai dr ug laws c-reat e scan 'i ty hy artific iall y restri ct -

in g suppl y. d ri vin g lip pr ic('s a nd c-rentiug a lucra ti ve market for c riminal d e me nts to e-xploi t. Le gal ize dru gs . argues Rothbard . a n economi st . a nd prices will fall. eli mi na ting the e normous profits. '·1 sup port the a bolition of d rug laws for two re aso ns ," Pa ul says . "OJH', lilt' govc m rneu t sho uldn't haw the rig ht to te ll people what 10 (10 with the-ir own bodi e s . Two. drug laws do n't work . One is a mu ral a rg u m e nt . TIlt' second is an economic po.. . ir ion ." Had it not bce n for Richa rd Ni xon . rln- Libe rta ria n Part y proha h lv would no t e xist.

m e n t. A11go vern me n ts . I .ihcrtariuns i.ldYlwlI!t' c-i vi I 1ilx-rtir-.... II A IJ ~ lJ sI 1971 . Nixo n imposed wage- an d -pric-e con trols on th e in person a l affai rs. a luis . . (·z-fa il"l" syste-m ill the l·('OIlOlll i(' realm Ame-ric-an ("(·ollom y. With in days. a s ma ll grou p of Co lora do lia nd a non-inn-rveu tionist fo rei gn pol i(·y. Tllt'y suppcut tilt' a bolibc rta rinn s we-re meeting ill De nver to disc uss formi ng a thi rd tion of vic tim less c ri me la ws re-gula ti ng dru gs , /!i.lll1 hlillj! . P0I'l104 po litical pa rty. The ir dec-ision ,..'a s nut a diffi cult one. Vietnam. g ra p hv, prus fi tut ion u nd sexual prefe-n-ncv. Tlw y ud vocun- whi ch libert a ria ns o ppos ed , was ragi ng, a nd a Iull -sculc c-rackelimination of federal ft'g'ul a tnry ag:t ' IJ('il '~ . . uch ; j,.; tilt" EP:\ . ~'( :C. down 0 11 c ivi l liberti es hat! OCCUlTed under Nixo n. Fur liberta rFTC. ICC a nd () ~ H :\ . T lw~' ulso c-all fur L' ~ witlul filW'll [nun ia us. wagc-a nd -priee c-ontro ls we-re the stra w that br oke th e :'lATO and othe r milit ary all iune -e-s, and a ll end 10 d ra ft n-ai stra- ('amt,rS luu-k . Th ey sta~w d their first nationa l convention in J uly lion . as well a s the abolition of lilt' FBI and tlu- C1 .\ . \\ 'a s hillJ!loll 1972 , 011 till' sa me wee-kend the Water f;!:at e b re ak -in U('('lIITe(1 in would bec-ome a g host to w n tinde r a Libe rta ria n administru tion . \\'ashingt(lIl. " This is a very inte n-stin g q uest ion : ' Pa ul resp ond s good -nu.loh u Ho.. . pcrs , th e Libe rt ar ian Pa rty's first ca nd idat e for pre eituredl v, when as ked whic h fede ra l ag ency he woul d aboli sh first. d ent. gnrn ercd onlv .').()()O vote s in two state s that yea r. But Hoger " In ma ny ways it is a tou g h questio n for 11)(' he-c-a use the n ' a re so J\1a('B rid t·. 11 prcs ident iul elect or pl('d ged 10 Nixon . des ert ed the ma ny govern me nt agen ci e s I woul d like to a ho ljs h ." Libertarian s Hcp uhln-ans a nd east his e lectora l vote for Hospers 1.lIH I 'Ionic Na ha ppily refer to th e abolit ion of a gen c ie s as " pus hing: the but ton ." tha n. his ru nn ing ma lt' . (Nat ha n"'" electora l vote prece-ded by more Pau l's pe rsona l pre fe renc-es a re the IRS a nd Fed eral Res e rve Svs- than a d t'eade th e \'tllt>:,- cast fur Dem ocrat L era ldi ne Fe rraro in tem. "A s lung as the lon g a rm of th e ~o\'t..r nm ent ta x collector i-, 19H.l . N De par1nlent th rea tellt'd II) Jl ru~c eut e Il os pe rs a nd l' i~ ht othe r li4 repeal of a ll la ws proh ihi tin~ th e pm dll d ion . sale. posse ssion or Iwr ta rhllls f<)r Ihe ir invo!wme nt in a n a llUrti ve efforttl) es lahlis h a use of drll ~s . a nd of a ll nw di ('a l pre script ioll req uirenu'll ls fin' Ihe fn 'l' " Hukl'! uto pia 0 11 a n isla nd e ha in in the ::;o ulh Pac ific . InpllI'ch a st' of vi ta mins. d ru gs . a nd simila r su bs la nces : ' In ca s(' you c lllC!l·d in the proposed (·lltllltr y's c onstit uti on was a meas ure l e ~al ­ were wonderin g. Liber tarian s woul d als o pus h the button 011 th e izing marijuana. \V1lt'n a uthorities seized Jimm y Steve ns . a ('ha ris rnatic tri ba l ch i(·ftai n who favured Ihe lib erta ria ns' effort s, FDA. "'TIlt' ease a~ainst o ut lawin~ nareoti(' an d h a llu e i n o ~c ll i ( ' dmgs th ey found ka va. a natin- ha lluci nogenie. in his pO.. sl·ssioll. ~ l a ('B rid e 's de fcc·tio n from Nixon so ple ased th e Lihe l1aria lls is fa r ,\'(~ak t'r th a n th e ('a~e ag ainst Prohihition . a n expt.'ri me nt which the ~ rjs ly era of the: 19 20s ha s hop('fu lly d iscredited for a ll tht.'\' dt'eided to 011I him for Pre side nt in 19 76. Ma eBride. a n at times ." Dr. 1\ l urray Hothha nl ar gues in his hook ForA New U berty . ton~n. ft.'(·eived 17B-UnO \'Otes in ;~6 :,-tules . The tota l sUl'pa:'ised Rothh,," 1i!' so meti mes (·alle(lt lle Ka rl ~I an ofl ihertaria nism. His a ll or'the other minor part ies (·(lInh ilwd . But it was in IYHO tha t the hook is n ·qu irt·d readill~ for pa rty aeti \'ists. " For wh ile nareuties Lihert a rian s really hit full s pe ed . Ed Cla rk ae hiew d hall ol sta tus ar e undoubtt·tlly more ha rmfullhall is aleohol. the lalt t"r ( ',11\ also in a ll ; 0 sta tes a nd reeein'd almost a mill ion vote s . Al a \'ietory he harmfu l. and outlawill g !'omet hing he cau se it may ha rm the pa rt y a fte rwa rd . juhil a nt pa rty ad ivis ts cde hralt' d hy li/!hting up ust'r It'ads s tra i/!ht do wn the lo ~ ical ~ a n l(, 11 path 10 our totalit ari a n joi uts . Th e fo ll ow in ~ yea r, ma riju an a s lllo kt~ from a hospit alit y suite op erat ed by th e Lib ert arian Pa rty Had ical Ca ucu s a l lhe pare a ~e, whe re people a re p rnh ih iled from ea tinv; ca nd y and fon' l'd to ca t yo~u rt 'for Ihe ir own ~o ud.' lI owe\,(' r. in the far more imposi ng: ty's natiu nal cOIl\'{'ntion ill D('n ve r was :,-o thi c k that ho k l !,(·(·urily a rgunw nt c(lJ l(' t-' m i n~ ha rm Itl ot hers. a k Hhol is lllue h m on~ likdy threa ten ed to shllt the room down. Fo r pa rty aeti\'is ts. t ho~e we re to lead tn (·rime. au to ae ('iden ts . et c. , than na re otie s: whieh ren - th e ~ood old days . dt'r the use r pretern a turall y p('acd ul and pa ssiH". Tlw rt, is. of T he l"(> has bee n litt le to eele hra te sinee. Beset hy in te rna l course . a \'t'ry stro n~ ('UI1IH·(·tion het wt·t·1l a ddiction and ('rime. squa bhling. the party ran DU\'id He q,d and . an allonwy, for presihut the ('o(1flection is th e rf', 'er.~e of a ny ar/;!:lIment for p roh ibit ion . dent. Be rgland ac hieved ba llot sta tus in on ly 38 states , a nd ft.'Cri mes a n ' ('ommittetl h~' addiets driwn to thdt hy the- h i~h priee ('ei,\'ed onl y 22.~. OOO votes . Th e ne xt yt'ar, th e part y·s monthl y of d ru ~s (·alls(·d by th e nutl awry itself! If 1l1.1Tcotie s wefC lega l. the newsp;lper re(Juced puhlie al ion to six ti mes a nnua lly. whe re it restlpply wou ld /;!:rt'al ly inc n 'ase , Ihe hig h ('os ts Hf b lack ma rkd s a nd mai ns today. Pa rt ~' le ad n s do no t seem cone ern t'd. th ough the poli ce payoffs would d isa ppear, a nd th e pri ee would he low sma ller \'Ote total s a nd ina hil ity 10 pu bl ish ca n be inte rp rete d as en ough to e1illlina lt>mosl add id-ea us ed erinw ." cvidc llec of decline . A sma ll ~rou p of ae ti vis ts known as th e

I

)(. NlJVIMIl(R / 18

Li Lertarian Republican Organizing Committee (LHOC )eve n defected and de cid ed to work within the Republi can party. "T he Libertaria n Part y, lik e virtually every oth er third party in Americ a , had its place in history," arg ues Eri c Garri s. nat ional di re ct or of th e tROC. "The LP was a ph enomenon cre ated as a result of Water gate and the Vietna m War. 'fclda)', however, the batt le betwe en th e forces of peace and war, and fre edom ver sus gove rn ment c ontrol, is going 011 in the Hepuhlir -an Part y," In 19 78. Garri s was an org a nize r in Sa n Francisco Proposition W, an ini tiat ive ordering th e loca l dist rict a ttorn ey a nd poli ce to nol e nfo rce or PIDS Ccute indi viduals in volved in usin g, cu lti va tin g or se ll ing mari ju ana. Th e mea sure passed with 57 percent of the vote . but a more rad ical measure organized by Ga rr is in 19HO that soug ht ab oliti on of the vice squad rec eiv ed onl y :m percen t of the vote. Libertarians dis agree . Wa ry of its decl ine , the part y nominat ed Paul as the ir presidential candidate in Seatt le last Septe mbe r. In 1988 . the Libert ari an s expe ct to fiel d 250-500 c andidates for public office at th e fed eral , state and locallevels . \Vhile the party is down , it is by no means out. Nationa l Dire ctor Paul jacob notes more than 80 members c ur re ntly hold elective a nd appointed positions nat ion wide . He expects tha t number to increa se thi s year, alon g with membership, whic h c urre ntly total s 7.000. For tho se who do join the part y. runn ing for office is not always as easy as it sounds . Ballo t a ccess laws erected by the Democrats and Republic an s force the Lib ertarians a nd othe r minor parties to spend most of the money th ey rai se on petition drives , instead of adv erti sing and promotion. "O ur limited resources have to be spe nt on ballot ac cess , and that mak es it very difficult." Paul noted . Fundin g ca n a lso be a problem . In keepin g with their oppo sition to govern me nt, the Libertarian s refuse to 'acce pt federal mat ching funds. " A third party that refuses to take government money on pri nciple ha s to ra ise money from other sources," Paul sai d. "Th e spec ia l inte res ts ce rta inly a re n' t going to provide that money be cause the y're only lookin g for spec ia l favors. a nd the y kno w those favors won't co me from us ." Paul expe cts to rai se 85 million from private c itize ns. t first gla nce. Ron Paul appears to be jus t another poli tician . His hair is Sh 0l1, his suits a rc three -piece and his dra wl is Texan . But whe n Paul ope ns his mouth it is cl ear he advo cat es rad ical soc ia l c ha nge for Ame rican society. " It's a fa rce, a total failure and it should he abandoned ." Paul says of Rea ga n's \Var On Dru gs . " Nancy Reagan ca me out a nd sai d ' Anyone who bu ys a ma rijuana cig arette c ontribute s to the dru g wars an d killin g: a nd therefor e they creat ed the drug dealers. I think that's turned up side down. Th e drug dealer is c reated by the law. 'Ii)say that IWl"sOr) S who usc drugs creat e thi s system is, I thi nk. comple tely wron g." Ja cob adds , " Rona ld and Nancy Hca gan are hypocrites. Th e y've blown th e dru g issue into mass hysteria. hut tolerate-d :\Iichael Deaver, someone with a ve ry se rious problem. Basically, Deaver 's a drunk . So how did the Reagan's respond ! Did the y te ll h im to see k cou nsel ing for hi s al cohol problem ! Did they launc-h a nationwide war a ga inst alcohol use? No. The y went on the supposit ion that alcoh ol us e by the Republi can cou ntr y cluh set is le gitimat e , e ven when it lea ds to alcoholism , while a ny kid ca ught with a j oint should he thr own in the sla mme r. That certainl y qu alifi es , in my book. as hypocri sy" Paul and Jacub. who is 2 7. compleme nt e ac h other nicel y. Paul's a p pe-al a ppea rs greate r when dealing with older audien ces , while .lucoh breaks ground with younge r crowd s . But one episode illustrates the pair's (·om mitmenl. On Jul y 4 .198 1, J acob, th en 2 1, went underground to fight draft registration. In Se pte mbe r 1982 , he was indict ed for refu sing to regi ster with the Se lective Se rvice Sys te m. Libertarians oppose registration and th e draft as infrin gem ent s on indi vidual rights . But by the time he was ind icte d , Ja cob was long gone . Unde rground. he dre w payments from a s peci a l fund and worked odd

A

~

w

ow Z I

Q jobs lin ed III' hy Libertarian suppo rte rs . j acob a voided the FBI for over two ye ars . hut was ultimatel y ca ptu red in December 19 84. Other politi cal parties would have dis owned any member indicted for resi sting the draft, hut not the Lib ertar ian s. Th ey united behind Jacob. During a two-day trial in Jul y lY85 . in Littl e Rock , Ark a nsas , Paul testified in Jacob's defen se . Asked by a defense attorn ey if he supporte d Ja coh's pos it ion on th e draft . Paul respond ed , " Abs ol ute ly, I me an . it is the pos ition tha t on ly countgeous peopl e can hold and act ion on ly courageou s pe opl e c an tak e." Und er <.TO:-;S e xamina tion . a pro se cu tor. Assistant US AttorIWy Sandra Che rry. showed Paul a c opy of Ja cob's vote r registration c ard. On it, jacob had writte n "G o Sma sh Th e Sta te. " " Is that a n opinion or an atti tude that you think finds support among people of your ph ilosoph y'!" Che rry asked. " We ll. you know, as far as I'm concerned th e state is massi ve," Paul responded. "The las t couple yea rs I was in Congress I vote d a ga inst 99 percent of the ex pen dit ures of the sta te main ly be cause we' re bein g driv en int o a bankrupt state. I don 't lise tha t typ e of lan guage. I don't use those words . But if you took my voting record , I ce rta inly would reduce the state in a ve ry significa nt man ner. because the sta te now is e nc roac hing on ou r personal lib erti es . It's enc roac hing thro ughout th e world on a dail y basis on what the y a re doing and a lso in the e conomy, a nd for thi s rea son, I think the state itself is a thr eat to us. It's a thr eat to the individual lib erti es , not on ly of Paul .lacoh but to eve ry s ing le so litar y per son in this country. So th er efore, I th ink the verb is one that I wouldn't have chosen , hut I ce rta inly w ould choose word s lik e 's ignifica ntly redu ce " the role of government over our lives : ' Despite the testi mon y, Jacob was co nvicted and ultimatel y served four month s, 27 da ys in pri son . Th ere is an adage part y act ivists rep eat. Libert ari an s go to jail before the y are el ect ed to office ; Demo cra ts a nd Republicans to to jail ofte r they have been el ect ed . In rece nt years . othe r Lib e rtarians have been incarcerated. for resist in g w ha t "they te rm "the Sta le.... Tim Lewis . thc part y's 1984 vice -pres ide nt ia l candidate, was convicted on fed eral c harge s of willfu l failure to file a federal income ta x return and se nte nce d to one yea r in pri son. J.ibertarians support a bolition of the incom e la x as un con stitutional. Norma J ean Almodovar. who ran for Ca liforn ia lieutenant governor in 1986. was con victed la st yea r of solic iting. Almodovar is a former pol icc meter mai d turned ca ll gi rl. She maintains her harsh three- year pri son sentence is an att empt hy Ca lifornia a utho rities to sil en ce her for writin g a book 011 poli ce corruption in Los Angeles. Other libe rtarians have tak en up the cause of Lewi s and

Almodovar. " We don' t abund un our fallen," says .\lark Ford. national d irect or of the Libert a rian Stude nt Network (I.SN I. the la rges t libertar ian you th grou p in th e co u ntry, .on Pau l's rad icalism extends be yond legali zing dr ugs a nd abolishing the DEA. Paul says he would cons ider using execu tive clem ency to pardon persons co nvicted under fede ral victi mle ss crime law s. Pau l o pposes mandatory ra nd om dru g testing. He condem ns form e r De la ware G ove rnor Pi erre S. " Pete" Du l 'on fs p rop osal 10 tes t teen agers. l Iul'o u t, a former ca nd ida te for the Republican presi dent ia l nomina tion . advoca tes tes tin g teen s a nd la king a way the ir driver's licen ses -if they d OIl'1 pass. " 1 thin k Dul'on t's idea is horrib le," says Pau l. "Drug tes tin g tee nagers is another example of politicians not rejecting the idea that govern ment power makes peop le bet ter;" Iron ically, Dul'ont's abortive campaign for the Hepublican nomina tion dr ew the support lIf Ed ward H. Cra ne II I. presiden t of the Ca to Ins titute. a neo-libert ariu n th ink tank in \\.'a sh in ~t on. Crane is an ex-party member; Paul ch ar acterizes Gt'orge Bush. the He puhlir -an ca ndid ate. as "the e pitome of the Establ ishm en t. Hush would do absolute ly noth ing to move us toward a free soc-i ety, He represents the big hanks and the big co rpo rations . His would not he a n admini stra tion for ind ivid ua l libert ies, es pec ially on all issu e such as mari j uana decriminal ization.' Democrat ic frontru nne r Jesse j ac kson, accordi ng to Paul. is authoritarian on the dru g issue . " 1 th in k Jack son is a demagogue on the issue of d ru gs. His solution is reall y to becom e an ultracons ervative on the issu e. He wouldn 't hes ita te to test. He wouldn' t hes itate to use the military again st d rugs. He wouldn ' t hes itate to th row more peopl e in prison . Il l' would n't hesitate to be a d rug cza r, You can imagine what j es se Jack son has in mind if elected president ." Paul is especially cri tic-a l of politic-ia ns who atte mpt to exploit anti-dru g se ntiment by calling fur harsher laws although they have personal substa nce abuse p roblems. "My guess is that the nu mber of alcoholics in Longress is s lightly higher than the average allwng the pop ulation. You ca n imagi ne that's a prett y h igh nu mber of people ! Certain members Ill' Congress have been known to he on

R

(

e leet ~' d

by taki ng the positions I was. I think I proved them wrung. I always had the same posit iun 011 d ru gs. whic h was to legal ize them. even whe n spea ki ng to a funda mentalist c h u rc h somewhere in rura l Texas. Yet my oppone nts never made an issu e of Illy sta nd, and I never lost a ran ' ove r it. I thin k the most interesting thing about Congress. whe-the r the y're dem ugoguin g the iss ue . or votin g a ga ins t heroin laws, or whet her it was voting on a ny othe r law before them , is th at many (If them often times felt co mpelle d to c ome to me ami ask what the libe rta rian posit ion on the iss ue was. Or, if you can bel ieve th is. to expl ai n that deep down in thei r heart s they we re libertaria ns. but of t-ou r...c Ihey co ul dn' t vole thai way. "I th ink they know exact ly what to do a nd say," he s a~" s , "They're a lways looking to the next elec- tion. They believe. and so far they've been able to pm \"(' this , that if the y de magogue the drug laws issue , c hances are th ey'll succeed. Those of us who understand the d rug issue from a phil osophical viewpo int , or an economic viewpoi nt need to he heard ."

t is no coi ncid en ce that a nti-d rug extremis t Lyndon I..aR ouehc has targeted the Libertar ian s. La lt ouch e advocates death se lltcnce s for dru g dealers, harsh prison terms for use rs and other repres sive me-asures . Laltou r-lu- smea rs the Libertarian Party as "a by-th e-book 'Coint e- lpro" operation of -Dope, Inc ,' a nd predominantly British intel ligen ce networ ks . l.a ftouch c . in his own inimi tabl e way. has attack ed the Lib ert arian s. us t'a project of the internat ional organ ized network known as 'D ope . Irlt' . : launched through the Mont Pe leri n Society front group of Count Ottn \ 'un Ha psburg's nco -Nazi Pan-European Unio n. the terrorist Institute for Poli('y Studi es (IPS). and 'liT lingu istic ian/h rai nwashe r Noam Chomsk y." Libertarian uppum-nts of Laltouche have bee n verbally s mea red as d rug deale rs, terrorist s and Soviet agents of influe nce . One would he hurd-pressed to find a political grou p the more polar opposite to Lalt ouc he . whose pmgram is ess entially fascist, than th e Libertarians. In 0114' St.' IISI·, the Libertarian s d efy all CO Il ventio na l political definition s. Th eir e-co nomic posi tions place th em 011 the right side of the s pec-t ru m. yet the ir sta nds on ci vil liberties and foreign pol it·y issues fall on the left. In a nother se nse . ho.... eve-r; the Libertarians rep resen t a rad ica l depa rture from the 20 th Cen tury tren d toward totalitu riani sm of which LaHour-he is prob uhlv the best conte mporarv exam ple in the Unitt'd Stall's. ( Jne need not ag ree with all. or eve n mos t of the Lihertar ians positions. 10 under sta nd they an' unti-tota lituria n. - We"';e dru gs. Certa inly a large majority us e alcohol. That 's hypocr isy of lost our way," Paul says. " At 011 1' time we c hampioned ind ividual libert v Hut in this cent ury, ess ent ially, l thin k w e have bee- n on a the wurst so rt when they turn around and vote for more laws, .., think politicians nm scared ," Pa ul says. "They ru n seared dangerou s t-oursc downwa rd that is now reac-hing a c limax. W'e 're and away fr om princi ples. What WI' need from politicians is lead - r-urn- ntlv in the midst of a \( 'ry import ant time in our nation's hisership un the iss ue instead of zombie s who re bo und to thei r own tory. and I would say I le-an more toward fear that we're headed toward not having a free soc iety. Tha t sean '!' me-. But it also motipe rc-eptions or follow opinion pulls that aren' t done corrl'd ly." Paul eontend s memhers of Congress are mOl i\'uted mun ' hy po- vate s me to work harder for a free s()cil'ty.Paul desnihes the Iran-Colltra affair as - a tra giI'. hu t natural litical exped ie ncy tha n principle when taekli ng the tJrug iss ue. He likes to cite one examp le from his teHure in Washington . -:\ OUI I'OIl\(' of an iUIt'f ve ntion ist fore ign policy that see ks to control fe.. . - years ago. there was a minur requ est in Cungress to allow doc- ev('I')' ('Olltltry it ea n gf'l its han ds 011 ."" Ife does not d ispute tha t a tors to preseribe heroin to ('aTH'('r patients who were Ilying." ht' n' - see n' l j2;O\'t' rn ment exis ts, and is aI·tiw' in the d rug trade . .., don' t ea lls. "T he vote cam e up a nd les s than 20 % 'voted for the measure dou bt that the CIA has heen in volved in d ru g dealin g. The people Th at is aver)" puor showing. The truth was , the large major ity of in po.....er are so arrogan t they will s ubvert law a nd onler, the Conmembers of Co ngress who were votin g O il thi s iss ue lIsed alcohol to stitution. anything to get the ir way. [ ndergmund govern ment is the extreme. as well as utller dnlgs , And yet. be('ause of Ihe politi- \'ery, very d an ~erou s . A fn 'l' soci et y ('annol exist l o n ~, whi le a secal ra mifil'at ion s. at least what the y tbough t, they a ll bt"came en·t govern ment is eating away at its foundation. "There are no outst and ing it-alit·is ill the DemolTati c anlJ Hefrightf!ncd and hypocritica l. Some of th em even told me, ' I ca n·t puhlit'an pat1ies , and the t·lectorate IS tu rned otTthis year." Paul vote to legalize heroin heeuuse my opponent in the e!edion will use that aga inst me and say I'm soft on dnl gs: That's how thin gs concludes. "Many people are prel lit'ting a ('lose el ecti on. Fi n~ to 10 percent of tilt:' \'ole I'm ild sw i ll~ th e rae('. Tbere's nu reason why are do ne in Wa l:'hin ~ t on . . " Ironiea lly. a lot of members of Congress professelJ sympathy a lihertarian eand ida te might not ma ke a di fft'l"e lwe in sOllie an d understand ing for the libertarian posit ion d uring 111)· time stateI:'. C\'t'll ..... in in a statl' or two out Wesl. Th at wou ld lurn the therc . cven though tht'ir Iwrccptioll was that they could never gel politieal system ups ide down." •

HI think drug laws are the number one reason we have so much crime in this country. "

I