Pubdate: Sat, 22 Mar 2008 Source: Naples Daily News (FL) Copyright: 2008 Naples Daily News. Contact: http://www.naplesnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/284 Author: Clifford A. Schaffer BETTER CHOICES Let me suggest an additional set of alternatives to those proposed by letter writer Bailey Geeslin. We know that drugs are not going to go away. They have been with us since the beginning of time, and they will be with us until our great-great grandchildren are dead and gone. In the history of the earth, there has perhaps been only one drug-free society. That was the Eskimos, and the only reason was because they couldna=80TMt produce any drugs in that climate. Everywhere else, people love their drugs a=80" as shown by the beer that flows at football games. According to the United Nations, illegal drugs account for about 8 percent of total world trade. There are only three choices for who will sell those drugs: 1. Government, with proper regulations and taxes to address social problems. 2. Private businesses, with proper regulations and taxes to address social problems. 3. Organized crime, with no regulations or taxes to address social problems. We have chosen organized crime to run this trade. Whatever the problems may be, either of the other choices would be better. Regulation and control is a better solution than handing billions to organized crime. Clifford A. Schaffer, Agua Dulce, Calif. Director, Marijuana Business News - --- MAP posted-by: Derek