Pubdate: Sat, 20 Oct 2001 Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO) Copyright: 2001 Denver Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371 Website: http://www.denver-rmn.com/ Author: Daniel E. Shier Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) ANSWER: LEGALIZE DRUGS Experienced law enforcement personnel could be more profitably employed elsewhere. Drug profits have supported terrorism from the Taliban to past CIA excesses in Latin American. They feed endemic corruption that oppresses the little people from Mexico to China. The long-suffering people of Colombia have had no chance for a just and stable society. Criminalization of drugs has filled our jails to overflowing. This has precluded the chances of many young males for productive lives, particularly in the black and Hispanic communities. Legalization of drugs in Holland has brought a greater percentage of addicts into treatment programs. Overall the rate of addiction did not change when drugs were legalized. Petty theft to feed a drug habit was much reduced. We don't have a successful strategy for winning this war. There is no evidence that we can ever develop one. We are simply squandering resources that could be better used elsewhere. Daniel E. Shier, Golden - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk