MEXICO'S ILLEGAL DRUG PROBLEMS AND OUR OWN ARE TIED TOGETHER

I am a mechanical engineer working in a chemical plant in southeast
Texas. Many professional peers of my approximate age, as well as
operators and mechanics, were what we call "recreational drug users"
in the early 1980s. It would be reasonable to be highly concerned
about this given the highly hazardous processing systems these people
design, maintain and operate.

Despite the obvious liability associated with having possibly
drug-impaired individuals working with such hazardous materials, it
was not until 1988 that our corporation initiated mandatory drug testing.

You might be surprised to know that there was not a noticeable change
in people getting fired or even going to rehab for drug use. For the
most part, users recognized that their livelihood was now at stake
and they quit.

The so-called war on drugs of today is very similar to Prohibition of
the 1920s-'30s. It has built multi-billion dollar criminal empires,
made criminals of people who would otherwise be little more than
dead-beat losers at worst, and corrupted large chunks of government
and law enforcement in various places around the world, including
here in the U.S.

Why not legalize drug possession/use (as long as it's not associated
with another crime or DUI) for adults, while at the same time
eliminating any legal barriers to discrimination against users by any
entity, public or private, for any reason, or for no reason at all.
This would remove the drug problem from the criminal justice system
and address it by societal discrimination.

Joe Reimers

Orange, Texas