LEGAL-ILLEGAL DRUGS

About 10:00p.m. on July 13th of this year, Kenneth Hecht of Lincoln California was eastbound on Highway 20 just west of the Mendocino County line. On that same night, Bruce Hopkins of El Sobrante California was westbound on the same highway.

According to local news sources, Hopkins car crossed over the centerline and ran head-on into the car driven by Hecht. A serious accident ensued, causing Hecht to spend a month in a Napa Hospital recovering from serious injuries.

According to court records, Hopkin's blood-alcohol level measured .13 at the time of the accident. In California, people who drive with a blood-alcohol level of .10 or more are considered intoxicated. The complaint against Hopkins alleges he failed to drive on the right half of the road. Hopkins was arrested, held in the Lake County Jail four hours, and then released on $5,000 bail.

What is so interesting about this story and why is it noted in COMMENTARY?

The facts are that Bruce Hopkins is a special agent with the Bureau of Narcotics enforcement in San Francisco, and had just finished special training for duty with the California Justice Department's operation CAMP.

CAMP, otherwise known as "Campaign Against Marijuana Planting" is the organization which flies the hills of northern California each year to "search and destroy" the marijuana gardens.

I live in the heart of the so-called "Emerald Triangle" and I have watched CAMP operate. It is not a pretty picture. Some have called it the Vietnamization of Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity Counties, and this description is vividly accurate. Each summer a fleet of Bell helicopters moves into the otherwise peaceful hills and valleys of the three counties. The passengers of these war machines are DEA and DOJ troops, who are armed to the teeth with fully automatic rifles and other artillery.

One certainly doesn't have to be a marijuana grower to experience an unhappy confrontation. Those who have seen these men in action first hand will attest to their aggressiveness.

These storm troopers have been known to harass and arrest anyone in sight. Doors are smashed in, homes ransacked, everything inside is trashed, thrown out windows or confiscated; vehicles, chain saws, cameras, guns, money, roto-tillers, generators, personal documents and letters are seized on the grounds that they might have been involved in the production of drugs. Ultimately, the land itself may be seized.

All this in a futile effort to control the personal vices of the citizenry.

I spoke with Kenneth Hecht by phone the other day. I learned that he is a family man who works as a meter reader for a power company. He was on his way home that night in July when the drugged DOJ agent came within an inch of taking his life. It has been said that Fate watches over drunks and fools. Apparently Fate is kind to hypocrites as well. Special agent Hopkins was able to walk away from the accident he caused.

Kenneth Hecht has no memory of that night, or of the month following. He may never regain full use of his one arm, has scars over most of his body, must continue neurological therapy indefinitely, and does not yet know if he will get his job back.

Does this incident illustrate a need for stricter enforcement of drunk driving laws? Perhaps it does, but I see something else as well -- the supreme irony of "legal" and "illegal" drugs. What kind of man can sit on a bar stool, achieving a blood-alcohol level of .13, while contemplating his government assignment to wipe out marijuana users and producers? And what kind of government can pick and chose what drugs we may or may not consume?

I do not advocate that anyone use drugs of any kind. That is a personal choice, and none of my business. And I certainly do not advocate driving while under the influence of any drug and endangering the lives of others. Such action is the equivalent of assault with a deadly weapon.

However, had the accident not occurred, Hopkins would have spent the remainder of the summer trashing and seizing the property of people who produce or consume another kind of drug. Ironic isn't it?