Pubdate: Mon, 20 Jul 2009
Source: Bradenton Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2009 Bradenton Herald
Contact: http://www.bradenton.com/contact_us/feedback/
Website: http://www.bradenton.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/58
Author: Nick Siggelakis

RECONSIDER WAR ON DRUGS

I am a fierce anti-drug person, but I have watched over 50 years the
failure of the criminalization of so-called recreation drugs (pot,
cocaine, heroin, etc.).

Billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent, possibly a trillion
dollars, thousands of lives lost and millions of Americans' futures
destroyed, and bureaucratic corruption.

I believe the government should take action to eliminate the drug
cartels by legalizing all drugs, but with restrictions.

Users would have to get registered and receive their drugs at a very
low price; addicts who would want to be clean could go to a government
rehab center free of charge.

Release drug users from prison, but not the drug pushers; this would
cut overcrowded prison populations in half and also lessen the
exorbitant cost of having so many prisoners who could be productive
taxpaying citizens.

This in time would be the end of drug wars and the cartels. Police
would not be wasting their time going after drug users and there would
be no framing of innocent people.

Alcohol prohibition in the 1920s didn't work and neither has our war
on drugs.

Nick Siggelakis, Sarasota
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake