LEGALIZATION WOULD BRING PEACEFUL END TO WAR ON DRUGS

Editor, the Gazette:

I'm writing about Beverly Rutherford's letter, "War has gone on for too long."

I agree the drug war has gone on too long. The answer to our "drug
problem" is to re-legalize our now "unapproved" products so they can
be sold in legal, licensed, regulated and taxed business
establishments. Then drug dealers as we know them today will go out
of business for economic reasons - just as the bootleg alcohol
dealers went out of business for economic reasons when we
re-legalized alcohol in 1933.

Of course, some will claim we will be sending the wrong message to
our children. The message will be the same message we send to our
children when we allow alcohol and tobacco products to be sold in
licensed, regulated and taxed business establishments. That our
government cannot protect adult citizens from themselves and our
government has no right attempting to do so.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.