The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's new advertising campaign linking drug sales with terrorists serves the dual purpose of addressing the war on terrorism and the war on drugs. But critics, including Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, say these advertisements ignore the realities of both drug use and terrorist funding.
The UW-Madison chapter of SSDP, an organization dedicated to drug-policy issues, held its spring kickoff Wednesday evening.
\The government should talk about the many legal products that have ties to terrorism or repressive regimes worldwide,"" said Darrell Rogers, national outreach coordinator for SSDP, in a statement.
The campaign, which shows drug users bankrolling international terrorism, cites links between drug trafficking and 12 of the 28 listed terrorist organizations, including the al Qaeda network.
""I think that the intent of the advertising is at least to make people aware that the money they contribute for drugs may be going somewhere that promotes violence and terrorism,"" said Lt. Brian Ackeret of the Dane County Narcotics and Gang Task Force.
Critics see these advertisements as avoiding what attracts terrorist organizations to drug trafficking.
""The government's prohibition is the reason it is so profitable to sell drugs in the U.S.,"" said Aaron Monroe, a UW-Madison junior and SSDP member. ""It is the same situation as when alcohol prohibition made Al Capone powerful.""
Monroe said there were many other sources of funding for terrorist groups.
The portrayal of drug users tacitly accepting terrorism, SSDP members say, is a double standard.
""Diamonds are responsible for funding death squads, civil war and genocide in the Congo, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Should we demonize engaged couples?"" Rogers said in a statement.
SSDP members said they wanted the issues surrounding drug use and, consequently, the link between drugs and terrorism to be approached differently because of the stigma they attach to the drug user.
""They have used this image of the drug user as 'vampire' to propagate the myth that drug users are out to steal your children,"" Monroe said.
With 70 million people admitting to drug use, the problem is not limited to a criminal minority, he added.
However, Ackeret said these users do not recognize where their money goes.
""My experience of people with drug addictions is that ... the vast majority are probably indifferent to the harm they cause,"" he said.
The underlying premise for law enforcement is that education is essential for overcoming the harms of drug use relating to terrorism.
""I don't know if [the advertisement] is going to have an impact on people's decisions to use or not use drugs,"" Ackeret said. ""But I think that any amount of education is beneficial. The perception that drug use is a victimless crime is incorrect.\
