OUR GOVERNMENT FAILS TO PROTECT US

Dear Editor,

Re: Timing of Cody Roberson's arrest warrant in question

This is always enforcement's conundrum, "How do we get the bad guy before
he gets us without hurting the innocent? How do we find murderers before
they kill?"

America gets an F in two out of three public safety indicators comparing
world governments' statistics concerning homicides, assaults and thefts.
The U.S. is a material world so we get just above average marks for
protection from and solving thefts. Where our government fails is in
protecting us from and solving homicides and assaults.

Switzerland and Netherlands do a much better job with their violent crime.
Their drug laws help lessen the harm to society by triggering less assaults
and homicides. Their teen drug use is down. Could it be because they live
in a safer, saner world? Maybe, but California's teen use of marijuana is
down so maybe it has more to do with drug sales being handled by legitimate
business people less likely to sell to a child or to recruit a minor to
sell to their peers.

Alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs are not going to go away.

Problems don't go away just because the government makes them illegal; they
just go underground. Then a black market creates worse problems; since
sellers cannot rely on police to protect their property, they arm
themselves, form gangs, recruit minors to sell to their peers, charge
monopoly prices and kill the competition. Some buyers steal to pay the high
prices.

Prohibition triggers violence in our streets and along our borders. It
fuels corruption of public officials and injustice in our courts. The
statistics reveal that racism is epidemic in the drug war.

Treatment of abuse saves precious lives and resources. War is a recipe for
disaster. War creates a booming economy for some on the suffering of
others. Warriors need to get their adrenalin rush making us all safer by
focusing on murderers and sexual predators. Consider truthfully educating
our young, treating our addicts and respecting the rights of adults to
choose their recreational/medicinal intoxicant. It would free law
enforcement to better protect us from violence and fraud and create room in
prison for those selling drugs to children.

Tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceuticals contribute to at least 25 timesmore
deaths each year than all the illicit drugs. We tolerate their salesmen.

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/causes.htm

They are real snake oil salesmen who, with the petrochemical industry and
the U.S. government, want to incarcerate more of our people than any
country in the world, destroy our national forests, cause global warming
and have us all using poisonous tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceuticals
instead of the beneficial and virtually harmless plant, cannabis or hemp.
Fear mongering and war runs their gravy train!

Support for the federal war on drugs is inconsistent with support for
individual freedom, constitutional government and the teachings of Jesus.

It's time to end the terror by changing our intrusive, big-bully policies,
both foreign and domestic. The monetary and environmental costs are
staggering and the human suffering unconscionable.

Thank you for your consideration.

Colleen Minter (McCool)

Stephenville