Pubdate: Fri, 16 Mar 2012
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2012 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Contact: http://www.newsok.com/voices/guidelines
Website: http://newsok.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author: Peter C. Patton

DRUG PROBLEM COULD BE FIXED BY LEGALIZATION

"Addiction costs Oklahoma an estimated $7.2B a year" (News, March 10) 
was a nice addendum to your continuing coverage of Oklahoma's drug 
problem. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to solve a demand problem 
by spending money on the supply side. Consider how well the Volstead 
Act worked to stop the consumption of alcohol in the United States in 
the 1920s. Or how well the "War on Drugs" is now working. In the 
1880s, Philadelphia economist Charles Sumner wrote this in regard to 
alcoholism: "Social evils tend to eliminate themselves."

03/16/2012 The Rev. Pat Robertson recently caused an uproar when he 
stated that marijuana should be made legal, like tobacco and liquor. 
Years ago I would have thought... In the United States generally, 
while more people die in automobile accidents than of drug usage, 
your article pointed out that in Oklahoma these dual menaces to life 
are equally dangerous. Is the solution the same? If we can eliminate 
loss of life due to drug usage by law, can't we also do the same for 
automobile deaths by outlawing the use of automobiles? Both Sumner 
and social Darwinism tell us that if we do nothing about the drug 
problem it will go away. Let me step out of my day job role as a 
college philosophy teacher to assume the mantle of a prophet. The 
government legalized alcohol because it needed the tax revenue. It 
will legalize the use of drugs because that's the only way we'll be 
able to pay for national health care.

The pattern is already set: The Food and Drug Administration now 
regulates the use of tobacco, a substance that when used as 
recommended will guarantee reduction of the user's life span.

Peter C. Patton

Edmond
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom