Pubdate: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 Source: Denver Post (CO) Copyright: 2008 The Denver Post Corp Contact: http://www.denverpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122 Author: Tony Ryan Note: Tony Ryan is a board member of and speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, LEAP. (www.leap.cc) He was a police officer in Denver for 36 years, serving as either a supervisor or commander for 26 of those years. He lives in Sioux Falls. Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n491/a01.html THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC COSTS OF DRUG PROHIBITION David Harsanyi's May 13 column "The government's sorta-kinda-maybe logic" really nailed it. He clearly laid out all of the important issues regarding drug prohibition: the costly, self-perpetuating bureaucracy that feeds on the war on drugs (and people), the massive incarceration of non-violent drug offenders, paramilitary operations in the name of public safety, holes the size of Colorado in the governments new "report" and the relationship of that report to Walters' recent tour of the country trying to scare school systems into drug testing their students. Perhaps Walters' didn't read about the recent Washington State Supreme Court ruling prohibiting these tests as illegal searches. In fact, one of their school districts wasted nearly $300,000 tax dollars randomly testing students with a positive test rate of "maybe 2 percent." I suppose we could look at Walters with a little compassion, considering the reality of this failed war on drugs is finally hitting mainstream consciousness. His job (and a bazillion others) is on the line because we now have people like David Harsanyi helping bring common sense to this problem. It's only a matter of time before Americans finally understand the impact of our U.S. Prohibition style drug policies. We know there are more smart-thinking, mainstream people like David Harsanyi. Last year, 225 of our country's mayors -- at their annual U.S. Conference of Mayors' meeting -- unanimously passed a resolution saying end the drug war and find a better solution focused on harm reduction. And discrediting those folks will be hard for Walters, et al to do. I especially appreciate this line from Harsanyi's column: "Children shouldn't use drugs, and even if drugs were legalized, no one is advocating children should be able to use them." Individuals and organizations that believe legalizing and regulating drugs is the best way out of this madness regularly answer many illogical questions--the result of the massive brainwashing of folks exactly like Walters. However, we're patient and we continue to educate the public as to how legalization would look in practice. We combat fear-based thinking and hysteria. Here, for instance, are a few of the questions I'm regularly asked about legalization of drugs: Q: Will drug use increase with legalization? A: A recent Zogby poll showed 99 percent of those answering whether they would use illegal drugs if they became legal said "No." Start with yourself. Will YOU shoot heroin if it becomes illegal? Q: How will we tell kids to avoid drugs if it's perfectly legal for adults to buy and use them? A: The same way we do now with the legal drugs (alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical drugs): with education. We educate our kids and arm them with facts, not scare tactics or punitive measures like forcibly taking their body fluids. We know education and treating the drug problem as a social and medical problem will be the best solution. We also realize that, no matter how hard we try, some will always abuse harmful substances (just as many do with alcohol and tobacco). Yet we've seen the results of educational efforts regarding those substances through medical organizations and other groups made up of plain old humans (MADD is a classic example). Through educational effort, Americans' use of tobacco has decreased nearly 50 percent in the last 25 years and alcohol consumption has been reduced as well. Better yet, more and more we hear talk of designated drivers, responsible drinking and things like "friends don't let friends drive drunk" and we've seen a significant reduction in alcohol related driving incidents when compared to the increase in drivers and miles driven in the past 30 years. Q: Who will distribute, price and decide potency? A: You will. You will have your say, and your representatives will help determine the best ways, just as they do today with legal drugs (alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical drugs). Sorry, but we at Law Enforcement Against Prohibition know better than to engage in the "how to regulate" conversation. We're law enforcement, not legislators. We enforce laws, not create them. Q: Do you know where I can get some really good drugs? A: No. I don't condone drug use and it's still illegal. If you want some "good drugs", then help us make it legal. Then we can stop putting you and your friends in prison. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake