Pubdate: Thu, 29 Aug 2002
Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN)
Copyright: 2002 Chattanooga Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.timesfreepress.com/index.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/992

DRUG WAR BEGINS WITH FOOLISH USERS

It is amazing that many Americans refuse to understand the basic natural 
law of "supply and demand." It can work constructively for us to produce 
economic prosperity. It can also work against us, as is illustrated in our 
war against drugs. American taxpayers have been forced to pay billions of 
dollars to fight against cocaine from Colombia, heroin from the Far East, 
marijuana and other drugs from Mexico and many other countries. There also 
is a high cost in fighting against domestic drug production. We are told 
that currently in our area, production of methamphetamine is outpacing the 
growing of marijuana as a problem for enforcement agents. That's because 
demand is great, potential profits are large, and meth can be produced 
quickly from easily obtained materials, while marijuana production takes 
more time. While we must war against the illegal suppliers of all kinds of 
drugs, we do not usually take as serious a view of the fact that foolish 
drug users create the demand and thus cause the problem. If there were not 
people eager to pay big bucks to risk their lives by using drugs, there 
would be no cocaine traffic from Colombia and no meth labs in the hills of 
Tennessee and North Georgia. It's great to put a "drug lord" out of 
business somewhere, or to nab a "dealer" or curb a "pusher." Our jails and 
prisons are full of them, and many more deserve to join them. But don't 
forget the "users." They are the real cause of our drug problems. They are 
not only endangering themselves but are endangering the rest of us and 
costing lawabiding citizens billions of dollars because they defy both 
common sense and the law.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom