SentLTE-Digest Thursday, December 31 2009 Volume 09 : Number 082
001 LTE: 'Mexico Weighs Options As Lawlessness Continues to Grip Ciudad Jua
From: John Chase <>
002 LTE: 'Mexico Fighting a War It Can't Win'
From: John Chase <>
003 LTE: Re: 'Violence drops in U. S. cities neighboring Mexico'
From: Kirk Muse <>
004 LTE: Re: 'Four states considering legalizing pot'
From: Kirk Muse <>
005 LTE: 'Winning the Drug War?'
From: John Chase <>
006 LTE: Mexico's Drug Ballads Hit Sour Note With Government
From: John Chase <>
007 LTE: Re: 'Save money by legalizing marijuana'
From: Kirk Muse <>
008 LTE: Re: 'The pot has already thinkened'
From: Kirk Muse <>
009 LTE: Re: 'If pot helps, then it is good'
From: Kirk Muse <>
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Subj: 001 LTE: 'Mexico Weighs Options As Lawlessness Continues to Grip Ciudad Juarez'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:22:20 -0800
Editors, Washington Post
Re: "Mexico Weighs Options As Lawlessness Continues to Grip Ciudad
Juarez" Dec 27th.
Neither Sr.Calderone nor his American sponsors understand the law of
supply and demand: constricting supply, even with no increase in demand,
causes price to rise. And if the market operates outside the law, the
money will attract more violent, reckless men.
We saw it happen here in the 1920s, especially after the 1929 Jones Act
increased the penalties against bootlegging. We woke up in 1933 and
voted to control the liquor business by ending prohibition. That was 76
years ago and no responsible person has proposed going back.
The drug war will end when policy is set by men less ignorant that
S.Calderone and his American sponsors. Not before.
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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Subj: 002 LTE: 'Mexico Fighting a War It Can't Win'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:07:53 -0800
Editors, The Miami Herald -
Re: Op-Ed "Mexico Fighting a War It Can't Win", 27 Dec 2009
Thanks for Jorge Castaneda's candid essay about the uselessness of
Mexico's war on drugs. It may be Mexico's war now, but we started it.
American politicians have painted themselves into a corner claiming to
protect us from drugs. In 1920 it was alcohol, with National Prohibition
(repealed in 1933); in 1937, marijuana. Then, for the next three
decades, an on-again, off-again escalation against an ever-growing list
of substances, finally codified in the Controlled Substances Act of
1970. Our drug war has washed away many cherished American legal
traditions, so slowly that most of us haven't noticed.
Mexico is seeing an amped-up version of the lawlessness Americans saw
during National Prohibition. It had been only 13 years, so they
remembered that life was safer before prohibition. We can't remember
life before the drug war, but Mexico can. Perhaps Jorge Castaneda's
essay will be the beginning of the end of the drug war, theirs and ours.
Submitted for publication -
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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Subj: 003 LTE: Re: 'Violence drops in U. S. cities neighboring Mexico'
From: Kirk Muse <>
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:27:00 -0800
To the Editor of USATODAY:
Please stop writing about 'drug-related crime' because it is not.
It's drug prohibition caused crime. ("Violence drops in U. S. cities
neighboring Mexico"
12-28-09).
We have almost no crime related to the drugs nicotine or caffeine. If
we were to
criminalize either of these drugs the situation would soon change--and
not for
the better.
Kirk Muse
1741 S. Clearview Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85209
(480) 396-3399
Thank you for considering this letter for publication.
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Subj: 004 LTE: Re: 'Four states considering legalizing pot'
From: Kirk Muse <>
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:52:28 -0800
To the Editor of USA Today:
The four states considering legalizing and regulating pot should
expect a bombardment of lies and propaganda about marijuana.
Lots of people, organizations, industries and institutions have
a vested financial interest in keeping marijuana a criminalized
substance.
Kirk Muse
1741 S. Clearview Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85209
(480) 396-3399
Thank you for considering this letter for publication.
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Subj: 005 LTE: 'Winning the Drug War?'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:27:44 -0800
Editors - Pensacola News Journal
Re: Your Dec 28th editorial, "Winning the Drug War?"
In the long run, no one ever wins a drug war.
Prohibition works only when everyone agrees, but if everyone agrees,
then prohibition is unnecessary. It was one of the lessons of our
well-intentioned struggle(1920-1933) to stamp out alcohol.
By 1932 Americans knew then that alcoholism and alcohol-related
diseases, like cirrhosis, declined in the 1920s. But official
corruption, unnecessary deaths and disrespect the the law outweighed the
medical benefits.
Americans voted in 1933 to get the federal government out of the
prohibition business. This tossed the problem to the individual states.
Some states stayed "dry', but most states used some form of regulation.
This is what we should be talking about -- how to end the drug war.
There are good examples to consider. First, how we re-legalized alcohol
in 1933. Second, how the Swiss began their "heroin maintenance program"
in 1994. Third, how the Portuguese decriminalized all drugs in 2001.
Then, perhaps we can agree on a form of regulation that will work.
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Subj: 006 LTE: Mexico's Drug Ballads Hit Sour Note With Government
From: John Chase <>
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:29:41 -0800
Editors -
Re: Mexico's Drug Ballads Hit Sour Note With Government, Dec 28th
Governments err when they worry more about message than substance.
In October 1996 the Clinton Administration sent four presidents and
former presidents to California to warn them that passage of Prop
215(medical marijuana) would send the wrong message to kids. It passed,
and kids' pot smoking did not increase in 1997. But the message
continued: the drug war keeps pot away from kids. But it doesn't.
If Mexico had given more thought to substance in establishing anti-drug
policy, Mexico would not be in the fix it is in today.
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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Subj: 007 LTE: Re: 'Save money by legalizing marijuana'
From: Kirk Muse <>
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:30:34 -0800
To the Editor of The Press Register:
I'm writing about Loretta Nall's thoughtful letter: "Save money
by legalizing marijuana" (12-27-09).
While Alabama and many other states are trying to figure out how to
close their massive budget shortfalls, the Dutch in the Netherlands are
trying to figure out what to do with their closed prisons.
While the Netherlands has a total population of about 16.5 million, it
has only about 12,000 prisoners. On the other hand, the United States
has greater than 2,300,000 total prisoners.
If my math is correct, we in the U. S. have 18.2 fold the Dutch
general population and 191.6 fold their prison population.
Why the glaring disparity? I suggest it’s our drug policies.
In the Netherlands, adult citizens can use, buy and possess small
amounts of marijuana without criminal sanctions. In the United States,
adult citizens are subject to arrest, and jail or prison for buying,
selling or possessing various amounts of marijuana.
Kirk Muse
1741 S. Clearview Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85209
(480) 396-3399
Thank you for considering this letter for publication.
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Subj: 008 LTE: Re: 'The pot has already thinkened'
From: Kirk Muse <>
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:05:53 -0800
To the Editor of The Washington Times:
I'm writing about the not-so-thoughtful letter from Sandra S. Bennett:
"The pot has already thickened" (12-28-09).
The question that needs to be asked is: Why don't children believe
those who warn them about the dangers of drugs? The answer: Because when
the drug war cheerleaders lie about or grossly exaggerate the dangers of
marijuana, they lose all credibility.
When children find out that they have been lied to about marijuana, they
make the logical assumption that they are also being lied to about the
dangers of other drugs like methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine.
A recipe for disaster.
The fact is marijuana is an extremely safe product. (No reported deaths
in the 5,000 year history of its use).
People consume marijuana for the same reasons they consume alcohol.
Why not allow adults the much safer alternative to alcohol?
Kirk Muse
1741 S. Clearview Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85209
(480) 396-3399
Thank you for considering this letter for publication.
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Subj: 009 LTE: Re: 'If pot helps, then it is good'
From: Kirk Muse <>
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:54:56 -0800
To the Editor of The Stockton Record:
I'm responding the the outstanding letter from Richard Riley: "If pot
helps, then it is good" (12-30-09).
I'd like to add that one of the medications prescribed by my personal
physician for my arthritis pain and inflammation, has the rare potential
side effect of death. In other words, if I take this medication as
prescribed, I can die as a result.
On the other hand, marijuana has never been documented to kill a single
person in the 5,000 year history of its use.
For me, marijuana is the more effective medication. Right now, if
adult citizens opt for the safer and more effective medication,
they are subject to arrest and being sent to jail with violent criminals.
Is something wrong with this situation? I think so.
Shouldn't adult citizens have the freedom to choose what goes into their
own bodies in the privacy of their own homes?
Kirk Muse
1741 S. Clearview Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85209
(480) 396-3399
Thank you for considering this letter for publication.
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End of SentLTE-Digest V09 #82
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