Opening Eyes to the Damage Caused by the Drug War A Childhood Memory Stained Growing up in Chicago, I have many fond memories of the Museum of Science and Industry. I spent so many hours in that place that I have as much sense memory of parts of it as I do the house I lived in as a kid. I loved science, and the museum encouraged discovery. Sure, some of the exhibits were a little hokey, but you still had fun and learned at the same time. It is therefore with much concern that I note that the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry will be hosting the DEA propaganda device called "Target America: Opening Eyes to the Damage Drugs Cause", opening August 11 and running until December. It's an exhibit developed in partnership with AFFNA DEA Museum Foundation, The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, The National Guard, The National Institute on Drug Abuse, The Office of National Drug Control Policy, The Partnership for a Drug Free America, and presented by McDonald's. Additional sponsors include: Motorola Foundation, The Crown Family, Chicago Blackhawk Hockey Team, Inc., Chicago Sun Times, Richard Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust, The Brunswick Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, Aon Corporation, Bensinger, DuPont & Associates, Judd A. & Marjorie Weinberg Family Foundation, LaSalle Bank, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Reyes Holdings, Wintrust Financial, Peter B. Bensinger, Jr., William Blair & Company LLC, The Ryne & Margaret Sandberg Foundation, Steans Family Foundation, Mr. & Mrs. David O. MacKenzie, The Bernard Rinella Family Charitable Fund, J.B. Charitable Trust (Philip D. and Judith S. Block), Margaret & Philip Block Jr. Family Foundation, Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Crawford, Jr. This is a continuation of the extraordinarily offensive DEA exhibit that uses pieces of wreckage from the World Trade Center with children's toys mixed in as a means of promoting the DEA! TARGET AMERICA: OPENING EYES TO THE DAMAGE DRUGS CAUSE August 11 - December 3, 2006 Most Americans are unaware of the tremendous costs associated with the production, sale and use of illegal drugs. The costs to society (estimated at more than $60 billion a year) are borne by all of us in some way. This exhibit is designed to open eyes to the myriad costs of drugs -- to individuals, American society and the world -- and to inform people of how those in the illegal drug trade are caught and brought to justice with current science and technology. Target America is an exhibit from the Drug Enforcement Administration Museum that presents both a global and historical overview of the many costs of drugs on society, as well as the drug trade's connection to terrorism. Ellis Henican of Newsday reviewed this exhibit when it was in New York. Drug-Fighters High on Their Own Nonsense Let me get this straight. Some American kid smoking pot is to blame for the World Trade Center terror attack? Apparently so. That's the message, anyway, of a glitzy new museum show that opened yesterday on the first three floors at One Times Square, sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. [...] And all the top generals in the government's Official War on Some Drugs gathered yesterday in cleaned-up Times Square for a standing-room-only opening reception. All of them seemed to agree: That 16-year-old with the pack of rolling papers in his jeans pocket, he's pretty much responsible for the 9/11 attacks. [...] Like many anti-drug campaigns before it, this one rests on shaky evidence and throws a fast emotional punch. [..] To hammer it home, there's a prominent display of World Trade Center debris accompanied by an audio sound track reliving Sept. 11 and tying it straight to the drug trade. And now it's going to Chicago. We need your help to counter this propaganda! At Drug WarRant, we have crafted a response and plan to make a powerful statement: We're working on getting a full color hand-out flyer printed to pass out to people at the Museum of Science and Industry that counters the DEA's propaganda and encourages them to find out more of the real facts. You can view the flyer here. That site also provides detailed sources for the information on the flyer and will eventually include point-by-point rebuttals of the exhibit. What you can do 1. Volunteer to help pass out flyers at the museum. If you're in the Chicago area, or plan to be there during the run of the exhibit, we need your help. No experience needed -- simply sign up to legally and non-confrontationally stand outside the museum and welcome people while giving them one of our flyers. Sign up at the Drug WarRant.net messageboard (where we'll be coordinating efforts, or email . We'll be working with chapters of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. 2. Printing Flyers. We've raised enough money now for printing flyers, but we may need more in the future. We'll re-activate this plea for funding in that case. There will be other expenses, and you can help out while getting fun merchandise for yourself. Just go to the Drug WarRant store. The 11x17 poster of the new graphic is $14.99 and that includes a $10 contribution toward the flyer fund. I encourage you to buy other things as well to tell the world you don't support the drug war, but the others are priced much closer to cost. 3. Writing letters. We'll have a guide to the exhibit here in the future and an opportunity to write letters to the editor on the issue.