Pubdate: Fri, 24 Mar 2006
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Page: A11
Copyright: 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Andrew Burroughs
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n321/a05.html

UTOPIA BEYOND REACH -- BUT WE CAN DO BETTER

Mr. Walters cites dubious statistics to justify a policy that has
wasted vast amounts of treasure. For example, he writes that current
drug use by young Americans is down by 19% since 2001. What he does
not mention is that the overall population of Americans under the age
of 25 has also declined.

Our last great experiment with prohibition was a ghastly failure. It
is now recognized that alcoholism actually increased during
Prohibition in the 1920s. And we understand that Prohibition was the
catalyst for the creation of vast organized crime syndicates that
still plague us today. We painfully learned that regulating personal
vices leads to the expansion of police power and corruption. This is
the exact situation that we see today.

We now have the absurd policy that we imprison sick and dying patients
for using marijuana to alleviate their suffering; and restrict the use
of ordinary cold remedies in the off-chance that their ingredients
might be used in the production of methamphetamine. Can anyone really
call this a success? It is time to start asking for new thinking and
new policies. Decriminalization needs to be put squarely on the table
as an alternative.

Andrew Burroughs

Paramus, N.J.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake