News (Media Awareness Project) - US NY: PUB LTE: Director of Reconsider Responds to Eitorial |
| Title: | US NY: PUB LTE: Director of Reconsider Responds to Eitorial |
| Published On: | 1999-10-04 |
| Source: | Ogdensburg Advance News (NY) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-05 18:38:37 |
LEGALIZE DRUGS
To the Editor;
Your editorial ("Who is Dangerous? 9/23/99) is very confusing.
On one hand you seem to be trying to say that drugs cause violence and
therefore the people in question need to be in prison to make our society
safe. On the other hand, every single example you used to make your case
clearly shows that the violence you are concerned about is caused , not by
the drugs, but by the prohibition of those drugs. "Addicts" who rob or
steal to get money to buy drugs are not robing and stealing because they
are high. They are robbing and stealing because of the artificially high
prices of these drugs created by prohibition. We should have learned this
lesson from the last time we tried drug prohibition in this country,
alcohol prohibition in the 1930's, but , obviously, too many of us didn't.
Al Capone didn't kill people because he was drunk, he killed people because
of money.
Money he could make because alcohol was illegal.
As for the stories you cite about physical damage caused by illegal drugs,
no doubt some are true. Abuse, of ANY drug, is bad. I will let the
doctors argue about which is more harmful to the body, alcohol or
marijuana, or cocaine but I would like to point out an interesting
statistic. The number of deaths caused by illegal drugs each year is in the
neighborhood of three thousand. (I'm only talking about deaths resulting
from the drug itself, not getting shot in a dispute over drug profits or
some other related cause). Three thousand deaths from drugs that are not
regulated as to their purity.
Those who take them are not taking them under a doctors supervision and
dosage is not indicated on the label .
To obtain a legal drug you need to consult a highly trained physician who
examines you and prescribes a drug which you buy from a licensed pharmacy,
who sells you packaged medicines that are FDA approved as to their purity
and strength.
The resulting deaths total about one hundred and sixty five thousand per
year ! This has to at least make you reconsider whether perhaps the dangers
of illegal drugs have been exaggerated.
Nicolas Eyle,
Executive Director
ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy
205 Onondaga Ave.
Syracuse, New York 13207-1439
(315)422.6231
To the Editor;
Your editorial ("Who is Dangerous? 9/23/99) is very confusing.
On one hand you seem to be trying to say that drugs cause violence and
therefore the people in question need to be in prison to make our society
safe. On the other hand, every single example you used to make your case
clearly shows that the violence you are concerned about is caused , not by
the drugs, but by the prohibition of those drugs. "Addicts" who rob or
steal to get money to buy drugs are not robing and stealing because they
are high. They are robbing and stealing because of the artificially high
prices of these drugs created by prohibition. We should have learned this
lesson from the last time we tried drug prohibition in this country,
alcohol prohibition in the 1930's, but , obviously, too many of us didn't.
Al Capone didn't kill people because he was drunk, he killed people because
of money.
Money he could make because alcohol was illegal.
As for the stories you cite about physical damage caused by illegal drugs,
no doubt some are true. Abuse, of ANY drug, is bad. I will let the
doctors argue about which is more harmful to the body, alcohol or
marijuana, or cocaine but I would like to point out an interesting
statistic. The number of deaths caused by illegal drugs each year is in the
neighborhood of three thousand. (I'm only talking about deaths resulting
from the drug itself, not getting shot in a dispute over drug profits or
some other related cause). Three thousand deaths from drugs that are not
regulated as to their purity.
Those who take them are not taking them under a doctors supervision and
dosage is not indicated on the label .
To obtain a legal drug you need to consult a highly trained physician who
examines you and prescribes a drug which you buy from a licensed pharmacy,
who sells you packaged medicines that are FDA approved as to their purity
and strength.
The resulting deaths total about one hundred and sixty five thousand per
year ! This has to at least make you reconsider whether perhaps the dangers
of illegal drugs have been exaggerated.
Nicolas Eyle,
Executive Director
ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy
205 Onondaga Ave.
Syracuse, New York 13207-1439
(315)422.6231
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