LAWS, NOT LEGALIZATION

A number of recent letters have called for the legalization of drugs (or to
use the current politically correct euphemism: Medicalization). These
letters have one fallacious theme in common: Drugs don't harm people; drug
dealers harm people.

Proponents of legalization normally make one of two arguments. One is that
users harm only themselves. This claim can be refuted by the tragic number
of crack babies being born to mothers who are addicts. The second claim is
that by legalizing drugs, we could eliminate the role of organized crime in
the narcotics trade. This claim was refuted by a recent news story showing
that the mob is now getting into the stockbroker business.

The solution to the drug problem is not to make the government the pusher,
but rather to enforce more vigorously our existing laws.

Charles Wukasch, Austin chaswuk@aol.com