Pubdate: Thu, 30 Dec 1999 Source: Santa Barbara News-Press (CA) Copyright: 1999 Santa Barbara News-Press Contact: http://www.newspress.com/ Author: Primo Goldberg Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1363/a11.html DRUG WAR: A GOVERNMENT SHAM I couldn't help but respond to a recent letter writer's response concerning John Lankford's column about legalizing drugs. I think everyone should back up for a moment, and consider this: Before we can have any serious discussion about drugs, we must define what drugs are. The term has been somehow made to cover all drugs, that the government has deemed illegal. This is absolutely ridiculous. The public has been subtly brainwashed into equating marijuana with PCP, or heroin. The whole drug issue becomes even more absurd, when we see ads on TV, that push all manner of strange drugs, and they say something like, "May cause headache, naseaua, sleeplessness, etc." And then we look at the bizzarre insult to the voters of California, who passed Proposition 215, and then had the federal government step in and negate the will of the people. No wonder people don't vote. I can't believe how the government has shammed people with "The War On Drugs." In 1999, the budget for the war on drugs was $17.8 billion, that's about $634.00 a second Drugs, are what the government says are drugs, according to them, there are good drugs, legal drugs, and illegal drugs. This whole issue is fraught with propaganda and big money corruption. It's time to take a second, closer look, at the drug war. Primo Goldberg, Corona del mar - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D