Pubdate: Fri, 16 Jul 2010
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2010 Miami Herald Media Co.
Contact:  http://www.miamiherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262
Author: Lorraine Dowdy

DRUG WAR HAS BEEN A FAILURE

In his July 8 Other Views column, The laws can't curb our appetites, 
George Will talks about the unintended consequences of Prohibition in 
the 1920s, including the growth of organized crime.

He likens Prohibition to our government's current initiatives to 
encourage change from detrimental eating to habits that destroy the 
environment. I am amazed that he failed to realize that he should 
have compared it to the failed war on drugs.

This prohibition has created a multibillion-dollar industry 
worldwide, contributed to the political instability of many 
countries, turned the United States into a nation with one of the 
highest incarceration rates and fueled illegal border crossings.

The illegal drug trade also saps funds from other aspects of society, 
especially education and healthcare -- not to mention the lives and 
coin spent in foreign wars as we continue the "fight between law and appetite."

Does he hope that appetite wins the war on drugs also?

LORRAINE DOWDY, Miami
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