Pubdate: Sun, 6 Aug 2006 Source: Washington Times (DC) Copyright: 2006 News World Communications, Inc. Contact: http://www.washingtontimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1003/a05.html Author: Donald J. Boudreaux LEGALIZE DOPE DeForest Rathbone rightly laments the thousands of deaths caused each year by drug abuse but wrongly asserts that legalizing drugs "would drive that horrific statistic much higher" ("Don't legalize dope," Letters, Monday). On the contrary, it's the current system of prohibition that keeps this statistic inhumanely high. If drugs were legalized, addicts would more readily seek treatment. Also, suppliers would be under competitive and legal pressures not only to ensure the quality of their products, but to standardize information about dosages. Furthermore, sellers would lose incentives to push drugs to schoolchildren. Anyone who doubts this claim should ask himself when he last saw Anheuser-Busch or Seagram's peddling their intoxicating wares on schoolyards. Donald J. Boudreaux Chairman Department of Economics George Mason University Fairfax - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake