Pubdate: Tue, 04 Jan 2011
Source: East Valley Tribune (AZ)
Copyright: 2011 Kirk Muse
Contact: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/opinion/submit_a_letter/
Website: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2708
Author: Kirk Muse

DRUGS AND GANGS GO HAND IN HAND

Drugs and gangs. Gangs and drugs. They seem to go hand-in-hand.

 From 1920 to 1933 alcohol and gangs went hand-in-hand. Back then
alcohol was completely un-regulated, un-taxed and controlled by
criminal gangs--just like meth and other recreational drugs are today.

If meth were legally available in local pharmacies for pennies per
dose, would criminals gangs be involved with meth? No. Would meth
users be constantly seeking new meth users to pay for their habit?
No.

If we re-legalized all our illegal drugs so that they could be sold by
licensed and regulated businesses for pennies per dose, would this
eliminate our drug problems? No. Will we ever be able to eliminate our
drug problems? No. However, doing so would substantially reduce the
crime rate and increase public safety.

Regulated and controlled drugs would be of known purity, known potency
and known quality--which would make them very much safer than today's
black-market drugs.

But what message would we send to children if we re-legalized all
illegal drugs so they could be sold in licensed, regulated and taxed
business establishments? The same message we send to children today
when we allow products such as alcohol and tobacco to be sold in
licensed, regulated and taxed business establishments.

A free country's government cannot protect its adult citizens from
themselves. A free country's government has no right to attempt to do
so.

Back in 2007 I had a similar letter published in the EastValley
Tribune regarding a meth bust that involved 31 drug cartel members. As
Yogi Berra would say, It's deja vu all over again.

Kirk Muse

Mesa
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D