Pubdate: Mon, 25 Jun 2007
Source: Post-Bulletin (Rochester, MN)
Copyright: 2007 Post-Bulletin Company, LLC
Contact:  http://www.postbulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1342
Author: Kirk Muse

DO TOUGH DRUG LAWS ACTUALLY CREATE CRIME?

I'm writing about: "Police: crime is a function of growth" (6-11-07). 
I disagree. Most of our violent crime and property crime is a result 
of our drug prohibition policies -- not drugs and not population growth.

If we re-legalized all our illegal drugs so that they could be sold 
by licensed and regulated businesses for pennies per dose, would this 
eliminate our drug problems? No.

However, doing so would substantially reduce the crime rate and 
increase public safety.

Will we ever be able to eliminate our drug problems? No. However, we 
can substantially reduce the harm caused by our illegal drugs. 
Regulated and controlled drugs would be of known purity, known 
potency and known quality -- which would make them very much safer 
than today's black-market drugs.

But what message would we send to children if we legalized all 
illegal drugs so they could be sold in licensed, regulated and taxed 
business establishments? The same message we send to children today 
when we allow products such as alcohol and tobacco to be sold in 
licensed, regulated and taxed business establishments.

A free country's government cannot protect its adult citizens from 
themselves. A free country's government has no right to attempt to do so.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, AZ
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom