Pubdate: Wed, 31 Jul 2002
Source: Cherokee Scout, The (NC)
Copyright: 2002 The Cherokee Scout
Contact:  http://www.thecherokeescout.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2314
Author: Tina Hughes
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1386/a07.html?1322

IF YOU CAN'T BEAT IT, LEGISLATE IT

I had such an overwhelming response from readers about my column on the 
legality of drugs that I felt compelled to clear up a few things.

I asked the question: Why are drugs illegal? I looked up the history of the 
drug laws and reported some of what I found. The laws related to drug use 
are lengthy. I could have filled a book with what I learned. Readers said 
that if I had researched further I would have learned so and so, or I 
should have done so and so.

Well, of course I can't explain all the various reasons that we have drug 
laws in the limited amount of space that I have for a column each week. My 
intent was to highlight how some of the laws came about. And I did that. I 
also differ with some readers' conclusions that I didn't answer my own 
question.

I wrote, "Why are drugs illegal? Some people decided that doing drugs 
wasn't the 'thing' to do." That's my answer to the drug laws, and it is 
undoubtedly different from other people's views. I answered the question, 
then concluded: "What people do to themselves should be their own business."

I completely agree with the comments that America's drug laws have filled 
our prisons with people charged with trafficking, consuming, manufacturing 
and selling drugs. It's the reason we let rapists, child molesters, 
murderers, batterers and thieves out on good behavior or just give them 
probation. There's no room in the prisons. So build more prisons? Sure, 
let's pay for even more people to sit in a cell, spend our tax money on 
college educations, eat three square meals a day, pay prison personnel, and 
fund the upkeep on the buildings.

Someone also suggested to me that if we allow all drugs to be legal, then 
all rehabilitation programs should be shut down. Not surprisingly, I agree. 
Addicts can attend "narcotics anonymous" meetings if they want to get 
better, or they can pay for treatment out of their own pockets, not through 
insurance, so that the rest of the population doesn't suffer from increased 
rates.

You would think that Americans would realize the correlation between 
prohibition and crime. We did in the '30s when alcohol was prohibited. 
Regulation is the answer.

Adults should be allowed to do to their bodies what they please. Not 
everyone agrees with pierced tongues but we don't prohibit it. Plastic 
surgery -- facelifts, tummy tucks, liposuction, breast enhancements and 
botox injections -- is done every day. People have died during these 
procedures, which aren't considered medically necessary.

People use tobacco products and end up with lung cancer, emphysema, throat 
and mouth cancer, poor circulation and any number of other health problems. 
Alcohol use leads to liver damage and alters a person's ability to function 
normally. Both these substances are addictive.

But let's also include poor diet. Obesity in America is alarming and 
affects all age groups. Should we prohibit the sale of fast food, sugar and 
salt? After all, heart disease is killing thousands of Americans each day. 
Insurance costs are rising as doctors treat more and more people because 
they refuse to eat healthy and exercise. It raises another issue. Should 
the rest of America have to pay for the health care of someone who has 
smoking-, drinking-, or eating-related diseases? It's food for thought.

Rather than reacting to drug use in America, we should proactively 
legislate it, creating tough laws on manufacturing and sales. Tobacco and 
alcohol use should be considered drugs as well. Imagine the revenue 
generated from taxing marijuana. Last week law enforcement here found and 
then destroyed 189 plants worth about $472,500. Someone was going to 
harvest that marijuana and sell it. If the government can provide the 
buying public with a better price, the black market would be nonexistent.

So it's simple. If you can't beat it, legislate it.
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MAP posted-by: Tom