Pubdate: Tue, 13 Sep 2005
Source: Watertown Daily Times (NY)
Copyright: 2005 Watertown Daily Times
Contact:  http://www.wdt.net
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/792
Author: Kevin Doran

A WAR AGAINST THE POOR

To The Editor:

As the Bush Administration leads America into a long war on terror,
let's look at the long on-going (failed) war of the last century: the
war on drugs in America, and why.

During the years of prohibition and before, you could go into a drug
store and buy marijuana, heroin, cocaine as medicine over the counter
(and treated as medicine). Were there people addicted to these drugs?
Yes. Was it wide spread? No.

We have people addicted to alcohol and tobacco products that are legal
(because the government is getting its cut in taxes). Were drugs made
illegal for your safety? No.

Prohibition ended in 1933 under president FDR (Franklin Delano
Roosevelt) and alcohol-related DWI accidents account for nearly 20,000
deaths per year, not counting related domestic problems. Tobacco
products kill over 400,000 a year. Tobacco subsidizing is another
program started by President FDR so tobacco would be affordable to the
poor and the working man (now called the poor workingman).

Every year thousands of people die from drugs approved by  the Food
and Drug Administration, yet nobody has ever overdosed from smoking
marijuana. Throwing nonviolent drug users in jail for years (for your
safety) and letting the monsters (murderers, etc, etc) loose doesn't
make any sense!

The real reason marijuana, heroin, and cocaine were made illegal is
because they were used as medicine and cheap for the poor and working
man and they were competition for the international drug companies.

The drug policies in this country need to be examined and changed,
including legalizing of drugs and education of use as medicine, with
treatment rather than jail for nonviolent addicts. In the war on
drugs, our police have been turned into mercenaries to control the
drug market, like our solders and Marines, have been turned into
mercenaries for the control of oil.

In this artificially created energy crisis, oil companies are making
record profits. Do to the fact that efforts of environmental extremist
like former Vice President Al Gore, who do not want more oil drilling,
our solders and Marines and their families are making the ultimate
sacrifice.

Kevin Doran

Massena
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin