SentLTE-Digest Wednesday, December 29 2010 Volume 10 : Number 082
001 LTE: Sent to Asheville Citizen-Times
From: Kirk Muse <>
002 LTE: Re: 'Weeding though marijuana legislation'
From: Kirk Muse <>
003 LTE: Re: 'Ending the futile war on drugs'
From: Kirk Muse <>
004 LTE: Re: ' Heroin overdoses, deaths and drugged driving all on the rise
From: Kirk Muse <>
005 LTE: 'Motivating Mexico'
From: John Chase <>
006 LTE: 'Addiction To Bureaucracy'
From: John Chase <>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subj: 001 LTE: Sent to Asheville Citizen-Times
From: Kirk Muse <>
Date: Sun, 26 Dec 2010 09:05:42 -0800
Editor:
I'm writing about Robert Sharpe's thoughtful letter: "Decriminalizing
marijuana would save public resources"
The war on drugs is just a metaphor. A metaphor that has
transformed the United States into the most incarcerated
nation in the history of human civilization.
The war on drugs metaphor was created by the Nixon Administration to go
after Blacks without appearing to do so,
according to the diary of H. R. Haldeman, Nixon's Chief of Staff.
Based upon its original goals, the war on drugs has been a
tremendous success.
Real wars are fought against other nations with armies, navies,
and air forces. Metaphorical wars cannot be won.
Who is going to surrender and sign the peace treaty?
Kirk Muse
Mesa, Ariz.
- --
To unsubscribe from sentlte, visit http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
or send a message to containing the command:
unsubscribe sentlte
------------------------------
Subj: 002 LTE: Re: 'Weeding though marijuana legislation'
From: Kirk Muse <>
Date: Sun, 26 Dec 2010 10:28:30 -0800
To the Editor of The Ahwatukee Foothills News:
Re: "Weeding though marijuana legislation" (12-25-10).
If marijuana were regulated, taxed and sold in licensed business
establishments like
tobacco products are, countless millions if not billions of dollars
would flow into our tax coffers.
Marijuana would no longer be sold by criminals--criminals who often
offer free samples of other, much more dangerous drugs like meth to
their marijuana customers.
When I was a marijuana user more than 15 years ago, I was frequently
offered free samples of other drugs like meth and cocaine.
(Yet I've never been offered a free sample of whiskey or vodka when
buying beer or wine.)
Fortunately, I turned down all offers of free samples of other drugs.
Unfortunately, many others do not--thus the gateway effect.
Kirk Muse
1741 S. Clearview Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85208
(480) 396-3399
Thank you for considering this letter for publication.
- --
To unsubscribe from sentlte, visit http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
or send a message to containing the command:
unsubscribe sentlte
------------------------------
Subj: 003 LTE: Re: 'Ending the futile war on drugs'
From: Kirk Muse <>
Date: Sun, 26 Dec 2010 14:36:32 -0800
To the Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald:
Re: "Ending the futile war on drugs" by Fernando Henrique Cardoso
(27 Dec 2010)
Imagine if we could eliminate all of our nation's heroin dealers--
Switzerland did.
Imagine if we could reduce the number of heroin addicts by eighty-two
percent--Switzerland did.
Imagine if we could dramatically reduce our overall crime rate--
Switzerland did.
Imagine if we could eliminate virtually all deaths from
heroin--Switzerland did.
How did they do it?
In 1994, Switzerland started an experimental program to sell heroin
addicts the drug at very low cost, even giving it to the addicts who
couldn't afford it. In 2008, 68 percent of the Swiss voted to make the
program permanent. Have Swiss heroin-addiction rates skyrocketed? No,
they have fallen dramatically. So has their overall crime rate.
Will the rest of the world adopt Switzerland's heroin policy? Probably
not. Too many
people, industries and institutions have a vested financial interest
in maintaining the status quo of drug prohibition.
Kirk Muse
1741 S. Clearview Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85209
U. S. A.
(480) 396-3399
Thank you for considering this letter for publication.
http://www.cesda.net/downloads/lancet1.pdf with the "82% reduction" on
page 1833.
- --
To unsubscribe from sentlte, visit http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
or send a message to containing the command:
unsubscribe sentlte
------------------------------
Subj: 004 LTE: Re: ' Heroin overdoses, deaths and drugged driving all on the rise in Dane County'
From: Kirk Muse <>
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:59:26 -0800
To the Editor of The Wisconsin State Journal:
Re: "Heroin overdoses, deaths and drugged driving all on the rise in
Dane County" (12-28-10).
Imagine if we could eliminate all our nation's heroin dealers -
Switzerland did.
Imagine if we could reduce the number of heroin
addicts by 82 per cent - Switzerland did.
Imagine if we could dramatically reduce our overall crime rate -
Switzerland did.
Imagine if we could eliminate virtually all deaths from heroin -
Switzerland did.
How did they do it?
In 1994, Switzerland started an experimental program to sell heroin
addicts the drug very cheaply, even giving it to the addicts who
couldn't afford it. In 2008, 68 per cent of the Swiss voted to make
the program permanent.
Have Swiss heroin-addiction rates skyrocketed? No, they have fallen
dramatically. So has the overall crime rate.
Will the rest of the
world follow suit? Probably not. Too many people, industries and
institutions have a vested financial interest in maintaining the
status quo of drug prohibition.
Kirk Muse
1741 S. Clearview Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85209
(480) 396-3399
Thank you for considering this letter for publication.
GENA: Please forward to the letters editor.
Source: http://www.cesda.net/downloads/lancet1.pdf with the "82%
reduction" on page 1833.
- --
To unsubscribe from sentlte, visit http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
or send a message to containing the command:
unsubscribe sentlte
------------------------------
Subj: 005 LTE: 'Motivating Mexico'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 00:41:31 -0800
Sent online to the Chicago Trib
Re: Your editorial of 28 Dec "Motivating Mexico"
What irony! The city of Al Capone would stop of the flow of an illegal
substance by ranting about the supplier. In the 1920s learned that
constricting the supply of alcohol caused more societal damage than it
prevented. (Remember, we arrested bootleggers, not drinkers). While true
that alcohol prohibition reduced alcohol-related diseases, it also
caused so much corruption and violence we ended it. And in the 77 years
since, we've had the good sense not to go back, and not to try it on
tobacco. The key is not which drug; the key is which method of
regulation. Constricting supply does not work.
John Chase
Florida
- --
To unsubscribe from sentlte, visit http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
or send a message to containing the command:
unsubscribe sentlte
------------------------------
Subj: 006 LTE: 'Addiction To Bureaucracy'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:49:39 -0800
Editors, Panama City News-Herald -
Re: Your editorial 29 Dec. Addiction To Bureaucracy
Thanks for that editorial about reducing the size of Florida's
bureaucracy. Florida's anti-marijuana bureaucrats have ignored the
success of the U.S. anti-tobacco strategy. Even though cigarette smokers
are not subject to police harassment, arrest and forced treatment,
cigarette smoking among U.S. teens has declined 50% in the past 10
years. By contrast, marijuana smoking has declined 10%**. As if this
were not enough, consider the societal damage wreaked by Florida's
anti-marijuana law that cost Rachel Hoffman her life. After her arrest
for selling pot, Tallahassee police threatened her with a felony record
unless she would help them set up two violent drug dealers. The two
dealers wanted the $13,000 she carried for the buy/bust, so they killed
her. Florida's legislators finally responded with a watered-down change
to Florida anti-drug law to prevent such tragedies. None of that would
have happened if Florida had applied tobacco's strategy of increased
taxes, public service announcements, package labeling, and nicotine
treatment choices.
** Ref: Monitoring the Future Study, Univ of Michigan. Table 3 at
http://monitoringthefuture.org/data/10data.html#2010data-drugs
John Chase
727 787 3085 day and night
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
- --
To unsubscribe from sentlte, visit http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
or send a message to containing the command:
unsubscribe sentlte
------------------------------
End of SentLTE-Digest V10 #82
*****************************
Mark Greer () ___ ___ _ _ _ _
Media Awareness Project /' _ ` _ `\ /'_`)('_`\
P. O. Box 651 | ( ) ( ) |( (_| || (_) )
Porterville, CA 93258 (_) (_) (_) \__,_)| ,__/
(800) 266-5759 | |
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ (_)
|
