Pubdate: Mon, 25 Feb 2002
Source: Daily Star, The (NY)
Copyright: 2002 The Daily Star
Contact: http://www.thedailystar.com/letter.html
Website: http://www.thedailystar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/557
Author: Alexandra Meyerson
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n257/a05.html?1611

U.S. DRUGS POLICIES ARE NOT WORKING

It was with great dismay that I read your Feb. 13 editorial, "We mustn't 
stop fight on drugs." While you did identify the underlying problem, the 
enormous profits available to those who would deal illegal drugs, you 
completely missed the obvious solution: End this ridiculous, failed 
prohibition experiment.

As long as recreational drugs are prohibited in this country, the black 
market exists as an open invitation to the unscrupulous to turn tremendous 
profits. By decriminalizing these substances, we can eliminate the criminal 
element and put sales in the hands of those prepared to restrict sales to 
minors and regulate ingredients for purity, as we do with alcohol and 
tobacco. After all, liquor sales no longer lead to drive-by shootings, nor 
do we risk blindness by drinking bathtub gin.

I agree that it is the demand for potentially dangerous drugs, including 
alcohol and tobacco, that must be addressed by the honest education of our 
children. In the meantime, we must finally admit to ourselves that, as even 
your editorial admitted, the current drug policies are not making anyone 
any safer.

Alexandra Meyerson,

Flushing
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