Pubdate: Thu, 06 Sep 2001
Source: Kansas City Star (MO)
Copyright: 2001 The Kansas City Star
Contact:  http://www.kcstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/221
Author: David Swan

WE LOST WAR ON DRUGS

Kudos to Clare Blando's letter (8/28) concerning the national travesty that 
was Prohibition. These types of irresponsible bans inevitably do more harm 
than good.

We've seen a lot of concerns lately over deficits and illusory budget 
surpluses. Rather than squabbling over a matter of a few measly billion 
dollars, it seems to me that it is time to turn our attention to one of our 
nation's bigger budgetary black holes: the so-called "War on Drugs."

This war costs our taxpayers well in excess of $100 billion annually. 
However, we have absolutely nothing to show for this investment. Statistics 
from the National Center for Drug Control Policy indicate that nationwide 
consumption of cocaine alone has risen over 500 percent since the 1972 
inception of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Let's rid ourselves of this costly, ineffective campaign, as well as the 
crime, gang warfare, and corruption that accompany it. The money we save 
could fund several Bush tax cuts, with a surplus to spare. And that's not 
even counting the additional vice tax revenues that could be generated.

David Swan
Kansas City, Kan.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom