Pubdate: Fri, 23 Apr 2010
Source: DrugSense Weekly Blog
Website: http://blog.drugsense.org/

LETTER OF THE WEEK

IT'S TIME TO RETHINK OUR DRUG POLICIES

Politicians still speak of winning the war on drugs, but that war is 
over.  And guess what? We lost.

Despite all government efforts to the contrary, our borders are 
becoming ever more porous to hard drugs.  American entrepreneurial 
genius has made marijuana a major cash crop in many states, and meth 
labs are popping faster than we can close them.  Isn't it high time 
we rethought our drug policies?

As with alcohol, prostitution and gambling, control funded through 
taxation makes more sense than attempted eradication, an admirable 
but futile undertaking.  Legalization with control not only removes 
the allure of drug profits but impacts the companion crimes of 
prostitution, theft and police corruption.  It will also relieve a 
criminal justice system overwhelmed with simple marijuana possession cases.

There is little correlation between harsher drug laws and drug 
abuse.  Norway and Sweden share a common border and Nordic 
culture.  Norway has moderate drug policies while Sweden's laws are 
much stricter.  But both have essentially the same addiction rates.

A Zogby poll published last May in The Economist magazine found a 
narrow majority of Americans favor some form of legalization and 
control.  But this, in no way, means approval, merely acceptance of reality.

George B. Reed Jr.

Fort Oglethorpe

Pubdate: Mon, 12 Apr 2010

Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN) 
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