DRUG LAWS MADE CRIMINALS OF THOSE ADDICTED TO DRUGS

I'm writing about the thoughtful letter: "Rich and poor all use
drugs, but only poor go to jail," (AC-T, Jan. 24). Imagine if we had
no "drug-related crime." Imagine if our overall crime rate was a
small fraction of our current crime rate.

We once had such a situation here in the United States. Prior to the
passage of the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, the term "drug-related
crime" didn't exist. And drug lords, drug cartels or even drug
dealers as we know them today, didn't exist either.

Back then, all types of recreational drugs were legally sold to
anybody with no questions asked, for pennies per dose in grocery
stores and pharmacies. Did we have a lot more drug addicts then
compared to now? No. We had about the same percentage of our
population addicted to drugs, according to U. S. federal judge John
L. Kane of Colorado. For the sake of our children, can we re-legalize
our now illegal drugs and sell them licensed business establishments?
This would put the drug dealers and drug lords out of business overnight.

And this would eliminate the lure of the "forbidden fruit" that make
drugs so attractive to children.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.