ALCOHOL IS THE TOP HAZARD

To the editor:

Walter Hickman is quite correct that it is a community concern when an
intoxicated person becomes a danger to others ("Incoherent rambling about
legalization," Jan 6). But he misses a few points.

First, alcohol wins all the prizes for creating hazards in the community.
Alcohol accounts for about half of all deaths by homicide, auto accident,
drowning, and fire, and about 70 percent of all sexual assaults on
children. All of the illegal drugs combined don't even come close to
alcohol's toll. We tried outlawing alcohol to eliminate those problems. It
was a disaster.

Second, the drug laws were not passed to protect community safety. At the
time the laws were passed, there was no real evidence that people who took
the currently illegal drugs were a hazard to the community. The drug laws
were the product of racism, ignorance, and nonsense. For example, marijuana
was outlawed because "All Mexicans are crazy and marijuana is what makes
them crazy."

Third, if someone gets high and injures someone else, then you don't need a
drug law to arrest them - same as with alcohol.

Clifford A. Schaffer, Director, DRCNet Online Library of Drug Policy Canyon
Country, Calif.