Pubdate: Tue, 28 Jul 2015
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
Copyright: 2015 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.stltoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/418
Author: Fred Kohorst

AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE CREATED THE DEMAND FOR DRUGS

The Sunday editorial "Descriminalizacao" on the war against drugs 
seems to confirm what I've been carrying on about for some time now. 
The war on drugs is an entirely misguided effort. We keep blaming the 
Mexican and Colombian cartels for the sale and use of drugs in this 
country. The fact of the matter is that the American people must take 
most of the blame for what is happening.

Readers of my letter who don't want to deal with this reality will 
write me off as being unpatriotic, but the real truth is that the 
American people have created the demand for drugs. Americans want 
drugs. We want cocaine, marijuana, meth and anything we can get our 
hands on. Drug cartels are simply supplying a product to a 
marketplace we have created.

It's another example of this more and more pervasive mentality of 
making other people responsible for our decisions. Every time someone 
uses an illegal substance, they make a conscious decision to do so. 
It's just easier to blame the bad Mexicans who are making our little 
boys and girls put that white powder up their noses. If someone is 
addicted, they put themselves in that situation. Help is available to 
anyone who genuinely wants it, but that of course means you couldn't 
get stoned anymore.

We may be our own worst enemy in this war on drugs. Maybe we need to 
rethink our war strategy and redefine who the real enemy might be.

Fred Kohorst   St. Charles
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom