Pubdate: Fri, 05 Jan 2001
Source: Hobbs News-Sun (NM)
Copyright: 2001 Hobbs News-Sun
Contact:  P.O. Box 850, Hobbs, N.M. 88240
Fax: (505) 393-5724
Website: http://www.hobbsnews.com/
Author: Christoph Engle

GOVERNOR'S DRUG LEGALIZATION CASE IS WORTHY OF SUPPORT

To the Editor:

I would like to applaud Gov. Gary Johnson's courageous stand against the 
War on Drugs and express my full support for his drug legalization initiatives.

Gov. Johnson is right on regarding the dollars wasted on policing, 
processing and punishing drug users without any real positive results. His 
Cost vs. Benefit analysis is a great way to look at the current situation.

We simply have to ask ourselves is it worth the billions of tax dollars 
spent on a "war" that many drug users I know feel is more of a nuisance 
rather than a deterrent.

We all make our own decisions. When it comes to drugs, the current laws and 
legalities seem to have little impact on those decisions. The best thing 
our government can do now is not to police and "protect" but rather to 
educate its constituents with valid and accurate facts on drugs so that the 
decisions we do make are as well informed as they can be.

Currently, our government is irresponsibly dumping billions into a sea of 
contradictions, misinformation and scare tactics that only confuse the issues.

Is this money being well spent?

Again, I fully support the legalization of drugs and encourage all of us to 
stand behind Gov. Johnson and his initiatives to end this ineffective "war."

Christoph Engle
Taos
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