cannabisnews.com: Legal Drugs Solve Problem 





Legal Drugs Solve Problem 
Posted by FoM on January 25, 2000 at 07:30:33 PT
Opinions & Letters
Source: Arizona Central
The Republic's eight-day series on the war on drugs was fascinating ("Arizona's Border War"). I cannot believe how much money - our money - is being used to fight this war. For what we spend each year, we could fund the operating budgets of the 25 largest cities in the United States. If we continue to attack the supply of drugs in the middle of the distribution network, we're only making the drugs more expensive, and therefore more lucrative to smuggle. There's no reason a pickup truck filled with cocaine should be worth $500 million when it's less difficult to manufacture than aspirin. 
The most simple solution is still legalization. If drugs are no longer profitable to sell, nobody will sell them. Let physicians and county clinics become the peddlers, offering guidance and counseling. They already do it with methadone, opiates, pain killers, and diet drugs. It's the Wal-Mart effect - everyone else will quickly go out of business since there is no longer a potential for profit. Since we all know that legalization is still years away, the next best solution is this: Offer $1,000 to every person who turns in a drug dealer, $5,000 for every drug smuggler/distributor, and $10,000 for every manufacturer. How many people will start dealing, smuggling and manufacturing drugs if they know that there is a price on their head? - Benjamin Bethel, Phoenix Praise? For what? Several pages in last Monday's Republic were devoted to the overwhelming tidal wave of drugs flooding over our border from Mexico. In a tiny item on Page A6 of that same paper, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright hailed Mexico's anti-drug efforts. What efforts? The smugglers drive courteously into our country? The dealers assure us that most of their drugs will go to other states? The Mexican cartels' sterling employment record of hiring minorities? Maybe Albright's praise of Mexico's anti-drug effort is based on how they're ridding their country of drugs - by sending them here. - John Kestner, Peoria Published: January 24, 2000Copyright 2000, Arizona CentralRelated Articles:DrugSense FOCUS Alert #156 January 24, 2000 - 1/24/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4460.shtmlCannabis News Articles In The Series:Putting Years of Drug Use Behind, With Help - 1/23/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4440.shtml Rebuilding Broken Families - 1/23/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4439.shtmlAid Money Targets Certain Demographic Groups - 1/21/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4426.shtmlEverything's Different Overdose Changes Family - 1/22/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4425.shtmlOne Phoenix Sting Paid Off for Cops - Part 6 - 1/21/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4408.shtmlChance Led To Side Job as Arizona Drug Runner - 1/20/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4396.shtmlOld-Time Methods Have Place in Fight - 1/19/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4379.shtmlA Contest of Wits at U.S. Border - 1/18/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4365.shtmlState is Pipeline for Illegal Drugs - 1/17/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4352.shtmlA Losing Drug War - 1/16/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4337.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: