Pubdate: Thu, 07 Sep 2006
Source: Statesman Journal (Salem, OR)
Copyright: 2006 Statesman Journal
Contact:  http://www.statesmanjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/427
Author: J. T. Barrie

SERIOUS EDUCATION A BETTER TACTIC THAN A 'WAR ON DRUGS'

Actually the correct figure for those affected by meth is closer to 
100 percent -- thanks entirely to the immoral and abusive war on drugs.

Back in the '80s I had barely heard of meth until I had to deal with 
a fellow employee on meth. He used pills, bought from someone who 
pilfered it from a clinic and committed no crimes other than annoying 
fellow employees with obsessive behaviors.

If you want to make it less profitable, just legalize all drugs. If 
you want to find and punish people you don't like -- at your own 
expense -- then follow the advice of the Statesman Journal and play 
whack-a-mole with illegal drugs.

The same 2 percent of people prone to deliberately abusing drugs will 
do so whether Salem completely shuts down meth distribution. They'll 
just find another unregulated distribution network. And yes, they may 
add another 2 percent of those who start the ritual of bonding with drugs.

We can either seriously educate people about drugs or we can blame 
some drugs for our social deficiencies and punish those who "can't 
handle" the bonding rituals set by society. And then we can read and 
listen to drug war propaganda disguised as eduction.

J.T. Barrie, Philomath
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom