cannabisnews.com: Record Shows That Drug Legalization Is No Solution





Record Shows That Drug Legalization Is No Solution
Posted by CN Staff on March 16, 2003 at 14:44:51 PT
By Joe Dombroski, Commentary Columnist
Source: Times-Dispatch 
The myth of the drug-legalization argument is that government distribution/regulation of drugs would remove the profit, and therefore the incentive, for illicit drug-dealing and drug-related crime.But the reality of drug legalization can be witnessed by any American tourist on the streets of a working-class neighborhood in southern Amsterdam. In that typical Netherlands neighborhood, residents weave on and off crowded sidewalks, trying to avoid making eye contact with dealers who openly push heroin, marijuana, and crack. 
In news reports and interviews, hard-working area residents blame the legalization of drugs for bringing more drug dealers, more petty criminals, and more drug use to their neighborhood.Twenty-five years ago police departments in the United States regarded drug use as a victimless crime affecting only the user. Vice enforcement treated drug crimes in the same manner as prostitution and gambling. Today law-enforcement officials understand that drug use and drug distribution are crimes with an untold number of victims. Society, as well as the drug user, suffers both physically and economically. The U.S. system of uniform crime reporting reveals that between 75 percent and 80 percent of all crime is drug-related or has a drug nexus. Drug-Related Crimes Legalization and government distribution/regulation do not stop the profits for illegal drug dealers. If we examine the basic economics of drug trafficking, we can understand what the people of Amsterdam are living with.In a typical drug-producing country a kilogram (1,000 grams) of heroin sells for about $1,000. That same kilogram is then sold to wholesale dealers in the United States for between $85,000 and $100,000. In Richmond a street dose (1/8 gram or an "egg") of heroin sells for $25. Thus a street dealer in Richmond can make $200,000 per kilogram. Once the dealer pays his cost of $85,000 to $100,000, he will realize a profit of 100 percent or more per kilogram..The government of a country with legalized drugs has to sell heroin for no less than $20 per street dose, to cover the pharmaceutical manufacturer's production costs. The government has to deliver a consistently safe strength per dose, and therefore it cannot purchase drugs as an illegal drug trafficker can. Meanwhile, the drug dealer who purchases his drugs from illicit sources that operate with no quality controls or safety standards can cut his price to $15 per street dose, underselling the government and realizing a smaller profit. He still makes money and the addicts purchase cheaper, and, in many instances, more potent heroin from the street dealers.The attitude implicit in a culture of drug use and acceptance in the Netherlands has played an important role in its becoming the world's top supplier of Ecstasy. Legalization has produced a drug-addicted population that has crippled the economy. In the summer of 2002, the legislature of the Netherlands reversed two decades of legalized drugs by passing laws to recriminalize drug distribution and use in order to protect its citizenry. Current Approaches Work The current approach in our country of tough drug laws, coupled with effective education programs and compassionate treatment, is producing success. It is a myth that there has been no progress in our anti-drug efforts. Overall drug use in the U.S. has dropped by more than one-third since the late 1970s. That means 9.5 million fewer people are using illegal drugs. During the past 15 years cocaine use has plummeted by an astounding 70 percent.There is still more to do. Drugs remain readily available, and a recent household survey on drug abuse revealed that an increasing number of American children are experimenting with designer drugs such as Ecstasy. As long as we have despair, poverty, frustration, and teenage rebellion, we're going to have problems with drugs. We must remember that our methods are achieving success. Less than 5 percent of the population - or 16 million people - regularly uses illegal drugs.Emerging drug threats such as Ecstasy and methamphetamine will require even more resolve and innovation. We need a renewed dedication by all Americans to help our children stay away from the misery and addiction of drugs. Innovative approaches to address the problem include drug courts, community coalitions such as the Richmond Drug Free Alliance, more investment in education, more effective treatment, drug-testing in the workplace, and drug counselors in schools. These ideas work. What doesn't work is legalization. Alaska Tried Legalization It's a well-kept secret that legalization has been tried before in this country. In 1975, Alaska's Supreme Court held that under its state constitution an adult could possess marijuana for personal consumption in the home. However, in a 1988 study, the University of Alaska found that the state's teens used marijuana at more than twice the national average for their age group. In 1990, Alaska's residents, fed up with the dangerous experiment of legalization, voted to recriminalize possession of marijuana.Legalization was not the answer for the Netherlands or for Alaska - nor is it for the rest of America. Legalizing drugs is simply surrendering. It's giving up on the hope that future generations will be drug-free and abandoning those people in the grip of addiction. Isn't every life worth fighting for?Joe Dombroski, a Richmond-area enforcement supervisor for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, is a 2003 Commentary Columnist.Complete Title: Tough Enforcement Succeeds: Record Shows That Drug Legalization Is No SolutionSource: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)Author: Joe DombroskiPublished: Sunday, March 16, 2003Copyright: 2003 Richmond Newspapers Inc.Contact: letters timesdispatch.comWebsite: http://www.timesdispatch.com/Related Articles:Legalization Is Not The Answerhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15687.shtmlDrug Culture Not Worthy of Compassion http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15723.shtmlThe Truth About The War On Drugs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15677.shtmlWe Must End The Unwinnable War on Drugs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11264.shtml 
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Comment #12 posted by Industrial Strength on March 18, 2003 at 02:53:40 PT
riiight
"In Richmond a street dose (1/8 gram or an "egg") of heroin sells for $25. Thus a street dealer in Richmond can make $200,000 per kilogram. Once the dealer pays his cost of $85,000 to $100,000, he will realize a profit of 100 percent or more per kilogram."I'm sure most of the people selling 1/8th grams on the street buy kilo's at a time. This is a scary article. We know it to be a foul smelling discharge of offensive, authoritative oratory, but it is a slick piece. People really believe things written in this fashion.My one cent. Peace (wow, I actually understand that expression now. Now more than ever it means something). Peace twice. 
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Comment #11 posted by TecHnoCult on March 17, 2003 at 13:33:16 PT
What???
"The government of a country with legalized drugs has to sell heroin for no less than $20 per street dose, to cover the pharmaceutical manufacturer's production costs. The government has to deliver a consistently safe strength per dose, and therefore it cannot purchase drugs as an illegal drug trafficker can. Meanwhile, the drug dealer who purchases his drugs from illicit sources that operate with no quality controls or safety standards can cut his price to $15 per street dose, underselling the government and realizing a smaller profit. He still makes money and the addicts purchase cheaper, and, in many instances, more potent heroin from the street dealers."First, where do they get data to support some "legal" supplier, who can't produce heroin for under $20 a dose when it is produced all around the world for penies a dose? Second, how can they say that drug dealers will CUT THEIR product to under price the legal source, but in the same damn sentence say that the illicit heroin will be more potent? WHAT???How many people actually fall for this crap?THC
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Comment #10 posted by BGreen on March 17, 2003 at 01:15:57 PT
Yes, They Carry Guns, ff, But I Wasn't Scared
This LYING PIG is able to squeal out his lies about Amsterdam because most people haven't been there.I've spent many hours walking the very neighborhoods this scum reject lies about. Almost every neighborhood has a couple of coffeeshops quietly coexisting within the peaceful setting, often with kids playing nearby or directly in front of the entrance.The cannabis community poses ZERO threat to the residents of Amsterdam.The so-called "drug dealers" are almost all from the West Indies, they're preying on tourists and they DON'T sell real drugs. You'll get screwed if you buy anything from them which is what you deserve.Walk into a coffeeshop and you can pick from any kind of bud or hash you could ever want. Why do these PIGS keep saying people buy cannabis off the street?LIARS!Two Amsterdam cops spent over five minutes helping my wife and I find a coffeeshop we were looking for. One of the cops called in and asked the dispatcher, then gave us detailed instructions on how to get to the "pot" shop.If we were ANY KIND OF THREAT those cops would have told us to piss off. THEY don't act and believe the way these lying PIGS like dombroski do. They don't have to. They're not trying to perpetuate a lie.dombroski, your lies have been exposed. I know the truth first-hand. LIAR!The peaceful Rev. Bud Green speaks the Truth.
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Comment #9 posted by freedom fighter on March 16, 2003 at 22:47:43 PT
I am curious if
Do Netherland cops carry guns??ff
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Comment #8 posted by Duzt on March 16, 2003 at 21:27:32 PT
other point
He also doesn't mention that the people who tried to change the laws towards cannabis in 2002 were thrown out of the government. Now the government is going to allow citizens to receive contracts to grow medicinal cannabis for pharmacies. Starting on March 17th the government will distribute cannabis (known cannabis strains grown by professionals, not like the 5% schwag in Mississippi) to medical patients. Looks like a typical drug warrior picking fragments out of the truth and creating his own truth. 
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Comment #7 posted by Duzt on March 16, 2003 at 21:19:56 PT
he starts with a huge lie
"But the reality of drug legalization can be witnessed by any American tourist on the streets of a working-class neighborhood in southern Amsterdam. In that typical Netherlands neighborhood, residents weave on and off crowded sidewalks, trying to avoid making eye contact with dealers who openly push heroin, marijuana, and crack."He's obviously talking about the Red Light District which is a very small part of Amsterdam. The only thing in that part is sex and drugs (pretty much) and it's easy to avoid. He calls that a "typical Netherlands neighborhood." Yeah, right. I think it's funny how those that want to invent that being tolerant to cannabis and other soft drugs (like mushrooms and peyote) has had a negative affect on Amsterdam, but what about all the other cities of Holland? Haarlem has much better cannabis than Amsterdam, not to mention Utrecht. I never feel like there's any danger when walking around any of those cities at night. Spend some time in Washington D.C., Miami, Sacramento, Dallas, Chicago or L.A. and see which place you feel safer.
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Comment #6 posted by sirreal on March 16, 2003 at 19:03:36 PT
Um,..er..one thing...
...in one part he says (admits) we'll always have some that will do drugs due to poverty, despair, blah blah blah......and in the last part, he says we should never give up "hope" for a drug free society.So which is it pal?Wierd thing is, some of these clowns are self-duped. They believe their own contradictions don't conflict. Sheeesh
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Comment #5 posted by lag on March 16, 2003 at 18:52:52 PT
Even if these arguments came close to the truth
And even if the non-official drug dealer could sell the dope at a lower price, I would imagine the convenience of going to a coffee shop to get your goods would make the officially sanctioned places a lot more appealing than dark alley deals.
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Comment #4 posted by i420 on March 16, 2003 at 17:47:10 PT
Smoke N' Mirrors
But the reality of drug legalization can be witnessed by any American tourist on the streets of a working-class neighborhood in southern Amsterdam. In that typical Netherlands neighborhood, residents weave on and off crowded sidewalks, trying to avoid making eye contact with dealers who openly push heroin, marijuana, and crack. Sounds like everycity, USA bet they still have LESS dealers on the street than any major city here.
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Comment #3 posted by observer on March 16, 2003 at 16:57:20 PT
drug prohibition is global, including Holland
''NO DRUGS ARE LEGAL in the Netherlands. Not even mairjuana. The whole editorial is based on a lie.''You're right, Wolfgang. The DEA careerist there was lying. Pot is not "legalized" in Holland. Heroin is certainly not "legalized" there, either. see:
The secret of world-wide drug prohibition
The varieties and uses of drug prohibition
Harry G. Levine
http://www.cedro-uva.org/lib/levine.secret.html 
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Comment #2 posted by WolfgangWylde on March 16, 2003 at 16:43:08 PT
Maybe someone..
...should write an LTE explaining that NO DRUGS ARE LEGAL in the Netherlands.  Not even mairjuana. The whole editorial is based on a lie. 
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Comment #1 posted by greek_philosophizer on March 16, 2003 at 15:01:20 PT:
This is a GREAT article !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a great article for two reasons:  1) The DEA employee author is playing defense
and not offense on the harm-reduction issue. 
This means the harm reduction issue has permeated
the consiousness of the average american is now
something being genuinely considered.  2) The blatantly wrong and made up supporting
arguments. There is no justification at all for 
suggesting that illegal drug dealers will have a
price advantage in a legalized market; the Netherlands
characterization was wrong; etc. 
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