Pubdate: Mon, 17 Jan 2005
Source: Muskogee Daily Phoenix (OK)
Copyright: C2005 Muskogee Daily Phoenix
Contact: http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3319
Author: Clifford Schaffer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

ALCOHOL CONTROL EXAMPLE FOR METH

If Heather Rector (Jan. 9) is concerned about people on drugs harming her 
or others, then she ought to be worried about alcohol, not methamphetamine. 
Alcohol wins all the prizes for dangers in society by a margin of about 10 
to one over all the illegal drugs combined.

Alcohol is associated with half of all deaths from homicide, auto 
accidents, fires and drowning, about half of all domestic abuse and 
two-thirds of all sexual assaults on children. None of the illegal drugs 
even come close.

If any drug is going to be banned because it is a danger to society, then 
the obvious first choice is alcohol. But we tried that, and we proved 
conclusively that, as bad as alcohol is, prohibition only made things worse.

If Heather Rector wants more information, she can find a wealth of research 
on the effects of prohibition at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer.

Clifford Schaffer

Agua Dulce, Calif. 
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MAP posted-by: Beth