In 2000, the leading cause of death in the United States was tobacco, killing an estimated 435,000 people, according to the American Medical Association. The No. 3 cause of death was alcohol, accounting for 85,000 deaths. Much further down the list were illicit drugs -- including heroine, cocaine, etc. -- resulting in the deaths of 17,000 people. Marijuana was not responsible for a single fatality. The term "war on drugs" is a misleading one, as the above should have made clear. The battle against drug use applies to only a select number of body-altering chemical substances, specifically the less dangerous ones. More potent killers -- namely tobacco -- have been annually lavished with tens of millions in subsidies from the federal government, according to its own statistics. [continues 679 words]