Pubdate: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 Source: Wall Street Journal (US) Copyright: 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Contact: http://www.wsj.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487 Author: Raymond C. Niles Note: Appeared with three other letters under "Down In The Trenches In A War That Can't Be Won"; MAP Editor provided secondary title. LEGALIZE ALL DRUGS, NOT SUBSIDIZE THEM Down In The Trenches In A War That Can't Be Won (3 Of 4) I traveled to Vancouver recently for the first time, and happened upon East Hastings Street. I've lived in New York for more than 20 years through rough times such as the crack epidemic of the early 1990s, but that left me unprepared for what I saw. Human zombies were wandering everywhere in the middle of the day. People inhaled crack from a sidewalk "hookah" that looked like an octopus. It was a mecca of self-imposed human misery, and it was paid for by Canadian taxpayers. I am completely for legalization of all drugs. If people want to destroy themselves, that is their right. But the alternative to banning drugs is not to subsidize them. That is the statist solution. Lost in this false alternative is individual liberty, where people are simply left alone to live their own lives, productively or not, as they see fit. Reality is punishment enough for drug addicts. Only a minority of people will choose that way of life because it is so self-destructive; their numbers are further reduced through early death. Subsidize that? It's insane. Raymond C. Niles New York - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman