-Caveat Lector- ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 13:48:05 -0400 (EDT) To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: LP RELEASE: Marijuana farmer, 75, jailed From: Libertarian Party Announcements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- =============================== NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100 Washington DC 20037 World Wide Web: http://www.LP.org =============================== For release: July 10, 2001 =============================== For additional information: George Getz, Press Secretary Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] =============================== Who's safer when a 75-year-old man is sent to jail for growing marijuana? [July 10] WASHINGTON, DC -- Do you feel safer today? You ought to: A few weeks ago, a 75-year-old Wisconsin farmer with severe arthritis, glaucoma, and diabetes was sent to jail for growing marijuana. His 80- year-old brother also faces charges for the same crime. And they're not alone in the "Who'd-a-Guessed-They're-In-the-Drug- Business?" Department: Over the past few years, two Old Order Amish men, a Rabbi of the Year, and a 9-year-old boy have been charged with selling drugs. All of which proves that the War on Drugs has made selling illegal substances so lucrative, say Libertarians, that almost anyone can be tempted into breaking the law -- even past-their-crime-prime senior citizens. "When a crime wave is being fueled by Geritol, you have to surmise that something is wrong with the law itself," said LP National Director Steve Dasbach. "And when the Amish are riding get-away buggies after making drug deals, you know the profit margin in illegal drugs has become so ridiculous that even otherwise law-abiding people can be corrupted. "Whatever the cause, Americans have to decide if locking up senior citizens, rabbis, and the Amish for drug crimes is an effective use of law enforcement resources -- or whether police should, instead, be concentrating on young, energetic murderers, robbers, and rapists." In June, 75-year-old David Burmesch was sentenced to one year in the county jail for growing marijuana on his farm. He was also ordered to serve five years' probation, pay a fine, and perform 200 hours of community service. His brother, Eugene, 80, is undergoing competency hearings and could face a similar sentence. Burmesch said he grew marijuana to help pay for the costs of raising his developmentally disabled son. The Burmesch brothers are just one example of America's surprising new breed of drug dealers: * In New York, Eli Gottesman, 74, who was once named "Rabbi of the Year" by his colleagues, is facing charges that he smuggled cocaine and marijuana into a federal prison. If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison. * Continuing the Torah'd crime wave, Yitzchal Fried, a 52-year-old Orthodox rabbi, was arrested in February 2000 for selling seven ounces of marijuana to a police informant in Brooklyn. Fried said the marijuana was an "exit drug" that helps people get off heroin. * In 1998, two Amish men in Pennsylvania were sentenced to a year in prison for conspiring with a motorcycle gang to sell cocaine at an Amish hoedown. Ironically, both men are Old Order Amish -- the most conservative of all Amish sects -- and reject the use of automobiles, electricity, and most modern conveniences. * In May, a 9-year-old boy in Villisca, Iowa, was arrested for selling marijuana to three 14-year-olds. The boy, who wasn't named because he is a juvenile, will be sent for rehabilitation. * In November 2000, the Reverend Travers C. Koerner, 55, was arrested in Maryland for intent to distribute methamphetamines. The Episcopal priest was found with $10,000 worth of drugs in his rectory. What do these cases have in common? They prove that when the government makes something illegal, the price goes up -- which tempts more people into becoming criminals, said Dasbach. "According to Joseph D. MacNamara, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, drug prohibition causes the price of drugs to be marked up by as much as 17,000%," he said. "And the United Nations estimates that the international black market in drugs is worth $500 billion annually. "So we shouldn't be surprised that people choose to violate the law when the law itself creates the enormous profits that fuel the drug trade. If we want to stop tempting people into breaking the law, then we need to eliminate the seductive lure of easy drug trade money. And the only way to do that is by ending the War on Drugs. "If we don't, then we better get used to the fact that people like 75- year-old David Burmesch will continue to fill our prisons. And no American will be safer if that happens." -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBO0tH0NCSe1KnQG7RAQH2zgQAplF/9JaiNU4xL7OG8bW3sJkG33Bhryhb xJxYd5qXohIgJ4sfPnJaxvu6UMBD2g1FOJNbjYysp92U8MDUP3NnHhiwsuq1TF55 Dxxbopwf+HcNcaTMtu2tDFh+ICNBy0anFxQwGny6hHhfRPKz6u0LfkNCDsVQSNGh tqTIQTsjjs4= =cLSR -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Libertarian Party http://www.lp.org/ 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100 voice: 202-333-0008 Washington DC 20037 fax: 202-333-0072 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- For subscription changes, please use the WWW form at: http://www.lp.org/action/email.html Alternatively, you may also send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> with just the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" in the subject line. ------- End of forwarded message ------- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
