BUILD REHAB CENTERS, NOT PRISONS

Editor:

Is it irony, or a paradox or simply another example of the farce we
call the "War on Drugs" and the campaign for "A Drug Free America"?

The main headline of the Casper Star-Tribune, Tuesday, July 22, "Some
teens say meth is low-risk." In the article it says that 30 percent of
teens and nearly 50 percent of adults surveyed in Wyoming believe a
benefit of meth use is weight loss. Above the main headline is "One
Pill (to make you smaller?)" which directs us to HEALTH, C3 where we
can read about the crowded and diverse field of candidate drugs for
weight loss. Is this not insanity?

America is a drug and alcohol culture. We have 4 percent of the
world's population but we consume two-thirds of the worlds' illegal
drugs and half of the world's legal prescription mood-altering drugs.
In America, alcohol is promoted and glamorized and if you watch the
network nightly news you will be bombarded with drug ads for every
possible aliment one can think of. Is there any wonder why people
self-medicate with the vast array of illegal drugs?

The War on Drugs isn't a war on drugs, it's a war on people. People
who use alcohol and other legal mood-altering drugs are waging war on
people who use illegal drugs. Is this not insanity?

How can it be that in this free country, some drugs are legal and some
are illegal? How can it be that in this free country, people who use
alcohol and other legal mood-altering drugs think they have the right
and the authority to tell other people what mood-altering substances
they can and cannot use. How is it that in this free country, where
alcoholism is not a crime, our jails and prisons are filled with drug
addicts? Is this not insanity?

The War on Drugs is an unwinable war in a free country. It's a waste
of time, money and resources. The War on Drugs cannot be won with laws
and law enforcement in a free country, the culture has to change.
Warehousing illegal drug users and drug addicts is not the answer. It
would be wiser to legalize all drugs and redirect all that time, money
and resource into honest education and rehabilitation -- get rid of
the prisons and build rehabilitation centers -- if only we had the
political courage.

Dino Wenino

Casper