Just Say No To This Drug Bill

Many of you may have been following the torturous journey of the Omnibus Drug Act as it winds its way through both houses of Congress and into a conference committee. If it can be amended in conference, it's almost certain that the Act will pass. If it does, we will all be in trouble. The Omnibus Drug Act, despite its billing as an assault on the scourge of drugs in America, is in reality an assault on the Constitution.

One of its major provisions, the death penalty for "drug kingpins," has been widely advertised. But other items in the Act have been less publicized:

• The Attorney General can impose a fine on anyone of up to $10,000 if convicted of any drug offense, regardless of the substance or local penalties.
• States can lose highway funds unless they institute random testing of applicants for driver's licenses and agree to suspend the license of anyone convicted of a drug offense.
• A person's passport could be revoked and returned with a permanent stamp indicating that the bearer is a drug offender.
• Companies could practice job discrimination against users.
• Employers can be coerced into mandatory testing (even physical searches) of workers, and all collective bargaining agreements that restrict such testing could be suspended.
• The exclusionary rule, which forbids using illegally obtained evidence, would be weakened.
• OSHA inspectors would be used to monitor drug use on the job, and bosses could be fined for any violations they find.
• Federal funds could be denied to universities administrators who fail to monitor workers and students.

Here is a possible scenario if this Act passes. A driver, stopped by the police, is ordered to take a urine test. The test won't tell if he's under the influence, only if he's recently used drugs. If the driver had smoked a joint a week ago, he faces an enormous fine for his act, he would lose access to any federal benefits (except for Social Security), and he could lose his job and his right to travel abroad, all for an offense which, in New York State and other states, is the legal equivalent of a parking violation.

This Act won't stop the movement of drugs into the country; it will only ease the movement of legislators back to Washington in an election year. But this Act puts the Constitution up for grabs, and it shouldn't be. Whatever the drug crisis is about, it doesn't require devouring our own liberties, and the destruction is more disheartening when our elected representatives participate in the feeding frenzy. Just say no to this drug bill.

Liberal

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