Beto O'Rourke has dominated the airwaves and print media recently with his campaign to legalize drugs. His basic position is the war on drugs is too tough to win, so let's surrender. I am certainly glad he was not an elected official leading our country during World War II -- "We can't beat the Nazis, it's too tough to win this war, let's give up the fight." He said on TV we could not win the war in Vietnam so we should have quit trying. [continues 101 words]
As a reformed drug user/dealer who spent many years in Europe (I'm not very proud of this), I feel I may be able to shed some light about the possible links between drugs and terrorism. I was stationed in Germany, but we (my partners and I) procured our materials mostly in either Amsterdam or Rotterdam. We dealt mainly in hashish and marijuana, when we could find the latter, and opiates. The seedy folks we dealt with were either Arab or Jamaican and most of the "hot" hash was "black afghan" - good stuff huh? So, does the illicit drug industry support terrorism? Probably not. However, there is a lot of money in the game and those who wish to supply themselves with wealth for arms would be inclined to exploit this market. The people we dealt with were well armed (the arms were openly displayed) with weapons that the public was prohibited from owning (so much for "gun control" eh?). Don't get me wrong. I don't have a problem with someone smoking pot. I do, however, have a serious problem with the ilk that brings it here from elsewhere. I ask all Americans to see the "big picture" and not just the issues that affect them personally. Mike Kennedy, Grass Valley [end]
