LETTER OF THE WEEK

INSANE DRUG WAR

By Robert P. Wood

Our federal government, our states, counties and cities are upside
down in debt (39 percent of our federal debt is owed to China ) and
Rep. Bart Stupak and 218 members of the U.S. House are requesting
another $429.6 million to throw at the drug war.

Recently, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said that crime in Kentucky
increased by 3 percent in the last 30 years while their state's
prison corrections expenses have risen by 600 percent. Anyone paying
attention knows that the 600 percent increase is due to the drug
war. Does anyone think that throwing another $430 million at the
drug war will end or even slow drug abuse?

Our jails and prisons are overflowing and our government wants to
build more and bigger jails. We now have 1.5 million people
incarcerated for drug offenses and the majority of them are for marijuana.

Drug task forces are carrying out a campaign of terror by breaking
into over 40,000 homes a year with "no-knock" drug raids. They throw
grenades into the homes and bust the doors down and rush in, heavily
armed and ready to kill.

We have already spent over $1 trillion on this drug war. It is the
longest and most expensive war in American history, and it is a war
against the citizens of the United States of America.

I consider it to be corruption for our government to bury us in debt
on this inhumane and barbaric drug war.

Federal lobbyists paid our legislators $2.45 billion in 2006. Some of
the largest contributors were law enforcement associations, lawyer
associations, pharmaceutical companies, prison and corrections
associations and insurance companies.

It is time to hold Rep. Stupak and the rest of our war-mongering
officials that are carrying out this drug war accountable on Election
Day, and vote them out of office.

Get involved, go to www.minorml.org and learn how you can help end
this insane drug war.

Robert P. Wood, Caro

Pubdate: Sun, 23 Mar 2008

Source: Bay City Times, The (MI)