Pubdate: Sun, 19 Jan 2014
Source: East Valley Tribune (AZ)
Copyright: 2014 East Valley Tribune.
Contact: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/opinion/submit_a_letter/
Website: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2708
Author: Mike Ross

'WAR ON DRUGS' IS GOVERNMENT WELFARE

During the Vietnam War, our generals told us with a straight face 
that they had to "destroy the village to save the village" to justify 
the American governments burning to the ground of villages that had a 
few communist supporters in them.

I suspect the real reason was to justify the Vietnam War, which was 
really a government welfare program for the folks in the military 
industrial complex. In her last editorial on the War on Drugs, 
Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk seems to have the same myopic, 
self centered view of we have to "put the children in prison to save 
them from drugs".

Polk wants to turn what seems like a health problem of children and 
adults abusing marijuana, into a criminal justice problem where the 
police lock them up in prison for the victimless crime of using or 
selling marijuana.

I suspect Polk could care less about the "children" and just wants to 
continue the "war on drugs," which is also a government welfare 
program for police officers, prosecutors, probation officers, judges, 
prison guards and other people who make their money by putting people 
in prison.

Mike Ross

Tempe
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom