Pubdate: Wed, 20 Jun 2007
Source: East Valley Tribune (AZ)
Copyright: 2007 East Valley Tribune.
Contact:  http://www.eastvalleytribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2708
Author: Kirk Muse

I'm writing about your front page story:  "Task force brings in 31 in 
gang, meth bust" (June 12.)

Drugs and gangs.  Gangs and drugs.  They seem to go hand-in-hand.

 From 1920 to 1933 alcohol and gangs went hand-in-hand.  Back then 
alcohol was completely un-regulated, un-taxed and controlled by 
criminal gangs--just like meth and other recreational drugs are today.

If meth were legally available in local pharmacies for pennies per 
dose, would criminals gangs be involved with meth?  No.  Would meth 
users be constantly seeking new meth users to pay for their habit? No.

If we re-legalized all our illegal drugs so that they could be sold 
by licensed and regulated businesses for pennies per dose, would this 
eliminate our drug problems? No. Will we ever be able to eliminate 
our drug problems? No.  However, doing so would substantially reduce 
the crime rate and increase public safety.

Regulated and controlled drugs would be of known purity, known 
potency and known quality--which would make them very much safer than 
today's black-market drugs.

But what message would we send to children if we re-legalized all 
illegal drugs so they could be sold in licensed, regulated and taxed 
business establishments? The same message we send to children today 
when we allow products such as alcohol and tobacco to be sold in 
licensed, regulated and taxed business establishments.

A free country's government cannot protect its adult citizens from 
themselves.  A free country's government has no right to attempt to do so.

Kirk Muse

Mesa
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom