Gay Today: World

Self-Contradictions Plague U.S. Drug Control Policy Director

Gen. Barry McCaffrey
Invokes Science and also Ignores It

OK's Marijuana Research,
Rejects Needle Exchange Studies

Compiled By GayToday

Gen. Barry McCaffrey is reconsidering his agency's position on the medical use of marijuana

Washington, D.C.--Gen. Barry McCaffrey, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy was criticized Thursday by the Human Right Campaign Fund (HRC) for touting "science" in his reaction to a medical marijuana study, but refusing to consider "science" in his position on needle exchange programs last Spring.

"We are pleased that Gen. McCaffrey has found science," said Winnie Stachelberg, HRC's political director. "We hope his new found confidence in science will lead him to reconsider his opposition to needle exchange programs, which science concludes saves lives."

A statement released yesterday by the ONDCP in response to a study by the Institute of Medicine on the use of medical marijuana, says "We are delighted that science is the basis of the discussion of this issue." The statement concluded by saying "We will continue to rely on the professional judgement of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the National Institute of Health, and the Surgeon Gen. on all issues related to the medical value of marijuana...."

Yet Gen. McCaffrey refused to listen to the same government officials who all concluded that needle exchange programs are effective in the battle against HIV and AIDS.

"After reviewing all of the research, we have unanimously agreed that there is conclusive scientific evidence that needle exchange programs, as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy, are an effective public health intervention that reduces the transmission of HIV and does not encourage the use of illegal drugs," said the heads of the National Institute of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Surgeon Gen. among others.

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The statement was made in an April 20, 1998 memorandum to Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala urging her to certify the effectiveness of needle exchange programs which she did the same day.

By certifying the scientific evidence in support of needle exchange, the Secretary could have allowed local communities to use federal funds to support these life saving programs. However, due in large part to Gen. McCaffrey's opposition, the Clinton Administration decided to maintain the federal funding ban despite the Secretary's action.

According to a Washington Times report a week after the Secretary's certification of the science, it was McCaffrey who convinced President Clinton that the opinions of the country's preeminent scientists and public health officials were wrong and that the science on needle exchange was still uncertain. "[The President] and I are happy [with] the way this came out," he is quoted as saying.

An ONDCP's attack on marijuana, here comparing the drug to Poison Ivy

Despite the continued prohibition on the use of federal funds, the debate continues. Congress last year prohibited the District of Columbia from using their own local funds for needle exchange and cut off all federal funds to individual organizations which use private funds to do so.

Similar bills have already been introduced to apply similar prohibitions across the country. "Our hope is that Gen. McCaffrey will apply his new found confidence in science to this debate" says Stachelberg. "His words can actually save lives if he chooses to oppose further congressional involvement in this issue."