Pubdate: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 2014 Albuquerque Journal Contact: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10 Author: Ron Nelson Note: Ron Nelson, Albuquerque Resident Page: A7 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n758/a08.html WHEN A DECISION COMES BACK TO HAUNT YOU The Lessons Learned From Legalizing Alcohol Should Be a Role Model for Why Decriminalizing Drugs Is a Bad Idea When I first read Diane Dimond's column, "When will we really listen to the experts on drugs?", my first mental response was, this woman really is out of touch as to how and why we have the prisons overflowing and the social issues that plague us today over drugs. I only agree with one portion of her column, "We believe that by placing drug abuse in the hands of medical professionals instead of the criminal justice system, we will reduce rates of addiction and overdose deaths," says LEAP's mission statement. "We believe that in a regulated and controlled environment, drugs will be safer for adult use and less accessible to our children." Think back, we once had a system where medical professionals had a more direct say about individuals who were a threat to themselves or to society. Unfortunately, politicians, fearing for individual rights, closed down public mental health hospitals and restrained the ability of medical professionals to make decisions about taking a dangerous person off the street. That duty now belongs to our police departments and judges, hence a prison system that has reached its max. Interesting how a decision made years back has come back to haunt them now. As far as a total legalization of all drugs, the lessons learned from legalizing alcohol should be a stellar role model as to why this is a bad idea. During prohibition, the relationship between organized crime and politicians helped to transition bribes - that was/is illegal - to political contributions that were perfectly legal. We all know how special interests and dollars spent to line their pockets is working out for the politicians today. And what do we have to show for it? America is the only country that has declared alcoholism as a disease. The amount of money spent on the health, social and public safety issues that are a direct result of excessive alcohol consumption is staggering and in the billions of dollar range. And yet we promote more businesses that solicit alcohol, with little to show for it at the medical/social and public safety end of the spectrum. As far as reducing crime, the great social experiments in Colorado and Washington are already disputing this issue. They have already learned that if a druggy will steal to obtain his/ her illegal drugs, he/she will also steal to obtain legal drugs. The Denver Post ran an article a few weeks back, citing that their property crime rate has increased by 68 percent, auto accidents are up 100 percent and homelessness is up 36 percent. Eliminate the black market? Basic consumerism dictates that an individual will buy from a less expensive source. Again, Colorado has cited a 68 percent shortfall in projected revenues. The politicians blame the medical marijuana program for underselling the legal market, but other sources claim black marketers are underselling legal businesses almost 3-1. The Albuquerque Journal ran an article some months back, showing that lost revenues on black market cigarettes and alcohol is costing the state almost $200,000 a month. If New Mexico's "expert" panel of politicians, law enforcement and judges cannot keep repeat DWI offenders off the streets, what makes one clearthinking individual think he/she can effectively corral a bunch of legal drug users? What I'm patiently waiting to observe is the political fallout over those politicians who quickly jumped on the legalization bandwagon by choosing what is popular over protection of public safety. Just watching Colorado alone, I think voters may soon come to their senses and declare that this wasn't such a good experiment after all. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom