Despite the fact that the vast majority of marijuana smokers are otherwise law-abiding and productive citizens, the federal government, as well as every state, has chosen to make even the possession of marijuana a crime. and has vowed to fight the "War on Drugs." As a result, in the average year. 400,000 people are arrested on some type of marijuana charge.

Perhaps recognizing the impact of this war on individual liberties, the War\'s leader has officially been labeled the "Drug Czar." The Czar's field commanders in the War are agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration and various state law-enforcement agencies. Indicative of the commanders' vilification of marijuana and those who smoke it is a statement made by outgoing Los Angeles Chief of Police, Daryl Gates, who in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee stated that he favored the death penalty even for casual users of marijuana.

Fortunately, because our nation's founders rebelled against a government they perceived as tyrannical, they had the foresight to create the Bill of Rights. Those first ten amendments to the Constitution (especially the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments) protect citizens in the United States from overzealous government officials such as Mr. Gates. Unfortunately, caught up in the fervor of their misguided attempt to win the war on drugs, police and drug agents consistently trample the Bill of Rights. This blatant disregard often goes unrevised because citizens are ignorant of their rights and therefore fail to assert them.