Pubdate: Sun, 19 Aug 2012
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2012 The Dallas Morning News, Inc.
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/lettertoed.cgi
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: John Williamson

TYRANNY BY LAW ENFORCEMENT WON'T WIN THE WAR ON DRUGS

Re: "Why should police change?" by Don Skaggs, Friday Letters.

Skaggs' moral premise that the criminalization of personal drug use 
is a legitimate use of police powers is in fact totally contrary to 
the well-settled philosophical mandate of social contract theory. A 
monopoly of force should never be used to enforce legislated morality 
that infringes on individual liberty of conscience where no 
compelling state interest could possibly sustain a morally defensible 
counterargument.

The War on Drugs has been used to virtually void the Constitutional 
protections of the Fourth Amendment. The fact that thousands of 
police officers themselves have formed an organization called Law 
Enforcement Against Prohibition should tell Skaggs that instead of 
condoning abusive drug laws, he should be deeply concerned as an 
American patriot about out-of-control government tyranny that lacks 
the ability to self-correct when its public policies are clearly destructive.

Drug addiction should have been a public health issue from day one 
and never a criminal justice issue. Not a single person should have 
had to ever die for a misguided war on drugs, cop or dealer.

John Williamson, Plano
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