THE DRUG WAR IS A SELF-PROPAGATING MONSTER

While I agree with Bethany Kirkpatrick's assessment that the death of
a 92-year old grandmother at the hands of Atlanta police is tragic, I
find it nearly as tragic that, as a senior at the University of
Georgia, Kirkpatrick has yet to grasp the fundamentals of cause and
effect.

Drug dealers make money because of the war on drugs, not in spite of
it. The prohibition against drugs has created a very simple supply and
demand system that has introduced a culture of violence and poverty in
communities across America. It is this supply and demand system that
allows drug dealers to gain so much wealth on the backs of addicts.

One only has to read the history of alcohol prohibition in this
country to realize a perfect case study exists.

Outlaw the right of Americans to make their own decisions regarding
mind and body altering substances and you will contribute to nothing
more than the creation of a violent criminal subculture. Remember Al
Capone? Bootleggers? Speakeasies? Additionally, her shoddy conclusion
that drug users tend to commit more crimes, so locking them up is
"good preventative medicine," is absolutely asinine.

Most of the incarcerated drug offenders in state prisons are
non-violent offenders.

That means many of them are arrested for nothing more than possession.
And we spend $3 billion a year of our tax dollars nation-wide keeping
them in prison.

But we put them in prison anyway, they spend their terms consorting
withviolent criminals, and then we all get to act surprised when
previously non-violent offenders get in trouble again after their
release. By Kirkpatrick's logic we should lock up her little brother
before he knocks off a liquor store.

She also asserts that education and treatment programs are not
effective.

Of course these programs don't work when conducted in a political and
social environment that refuses to address the root of the problem.

The drug war is a self-propagating monster. Our country's own policies
are turning hundred's of thousands of our citizens into criminals over
what is basically a public health issue. Why are we so focused on
punishing drug addicts as opposed to helping them? As unfortunate as
their circumstances of Kirkpatrick's little brother and the brother of
her friend are, they made their own decisions. I doubt highly any drug
dealer held them down and forced them to take whatever he was pushing.

It is not the government's responsibility to regulate their personal
decision making, and it certainly is not my responsibility to pay for
it. Because Kirkpatrick's little brother made a bad decision is not
justification for a police state in the name of combating drugs.

The answer to the drug problem- and all the crime and poverty that
comes with it-is simple: legalization, regulation and education.

Stop persecuting Americans for participating in what is usually a
victimless crime and start addressing the real issue.

Eliminate the drug war and you eliminate drug dealers. Eliminate the
drug war and you take away the incomes for the gangs and violent
criminals that rule poverty stricken neighborhoods. Eliminate the drug
war and you ensure the cops never have a reason to accidentally shoot
a 92 year-old grandmother ever again.

Dave Marck Jr.

Alumni, Athens, GA

Journalism