Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jan 2002
Source: Dispatch, The (NC)
Copyright: 2002, The Lexington Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.the-dispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1583
Author: Michael Highsmith
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n075/a06.html (Sharpe)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n112/a09.html (Buors)

LEGALIZING DRUGS

Editor:

Recently your paper has published letters from Mr. Muse, Mr. Sharpe 
and Mr. Buors, all giving their opinions on legalizing drugs. Mr. 
Muse writes that heroin and cocaine were used in products in the 
early 20th century. Those drugs were, of course, as addictive back 
then as they are today and very little was actually known about the 
dangers of those drugs back then. Bayer and Coca-Cola eventually 
stopped using them in their products for a good reason.

These letter writers seem to want to put economics before morals. 
That decision has always kept us in turmoil.

Mr. Buors writes that there are those who have survived their long 
lives just fine using these drugs. I am sure that number of people is 
a very small percentage of the population, compared to those who have 
died using these drugs. Walk the streets, visit the hospitals and 
drug treatment centers and ask the users if they could do it all over 
again, would they. Ask them how happy and successful their lives are. 
There are those who will read this letter who use drugs and you 
should ask yourselves the same questions.

Mr. Buors writes about "moral righteousness." We will all have to 
answer for our moral righteousness one day. He writes, "moral 
righteousness is the underlying reason for the drug war." That's like 
blaming God for our sins.

Legalize drugs and watch work productivity decline, absenteeism rise 
and see how fast the school dropout problem escalates.

It's a proven fact that these drugs control and destroy the brain and 
this is what you want for the future of America?

I choose morals over economics any day.

Michael Highsmith

Jacksonville, Fla.
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MAP posted-by: Josh