Pubdate: Wed, 09 Apr 2008
Source: North County Times (Escondido, CA)
Copyright: 2008 North County Times
Contact:  http://www.nctimes.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1080
Note: Gives LTE priority to North San Diego County and Southwest 
Riverside County residents
Author: Ray Raino

A DRUG-FREE WORLD IS NOT AN ATTAINABLE GOAL

The United Nations views a drug-free world as an attainable goal, but 
such a goal is about as attainable as an alcohol-free world. Alcohol 
prohibition in the United States ended in 1933 when this country 
realized that the only people benefiting from Prohibition were 
bootleggers and gangsters. Since that time, the emphasis has been on 
reducing the harm of alcohol by promoting responsible drinking, 
designating drivers and programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous. The 
same types of programs could be applied to legal drug use. It would 
be naive to propose that legalizing drugs would eliminate all the 
drug problems, any more than doing away with Prohibition solved the 
problems of excessive drinking. These are human problems that exist 
with or without laws and require societal intervention. The failed 
war on drugs costs this country an estimated $50 billion yearly. 
Saving this money by legalizing drugs and adding tens of millions of 
annual tax revenues from the sale of legalized drugs would provide 
funds for reducing drug-related disease and addiction. All Americans 
would benefit, except the criminals who now profit from the present system.

Ray Raino

Carlsbad
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom