NEW TACK ON DRUGS

To quote from Sunday's column by Doug MacEachern, "The straight dope":
"There is a clear connection between drug use and criminal activity in
Maricopa County." Well, duh.

Drug use is criminal activity. The high prices caused by the risk of
criminal prosecution, combined with drugs' debilitating side effects, mean
that many users can only afford their habit by engaging in robbery and
burglary.

Why not have the government distribute taxed drugs? Middlemen such as those
in Mexico will be out of business. Colombian farmers can sell to the U.S.
government instead of the drug cartels. The government collects tax money
that can be used for rehabilitation and education. Prison populations
decline by 25 percent to 50 percent. Drug dealing is no longer an
attractive alternative to productive labor.

Yes, there will probably be an (initial) surge in use. However, once the
"newness" wears off and the tax funds begin to be spent on education and
treatment, drug use will decline, just as it has for tobacco.

If we let private industry handle distribution, there will always be
pressure on them to increase use. The government should be immune from such
pressure.

The downside: a whole new federal bureaucracy and a wave of unemployment in
law enforcement agencies.

Wayne Daniel
Phoenix