History is repeating itself. During alcohol prohibition things got so
far out of control that teen alcoholism became a major problem. Every
high school had its own bootlegger. Schools were closed because of
student drunkenness.

The cause of the problem was the same for alcohol then as it is for
drugs now -- outlaws don't ask for ID cards. In a criminal black
market anyone of any age can buy anything they have enough money to
pay for. Hence, we are seeing 13-year-old heroin users.

It is essential to recognize this as a symptom of a failed policy.
Escalating the drug laws will only make matters worse. The results of
15 years of the most intensive drug prohibition in history are nothing
less than a national disaster. A massive effort costing well over a
trillion dollars to date has resulted in the cheapest, purest and most
widely available heroin and cocaine since the drug laws went on the
books.

Even school children now have access. It's time to stop listening to
hypocritical drug prohibitionists who actually create child addiction
with their drug policies.

The solution is to legalize drugs for adult use and regulate the drug
market the same way we do the alcohol trade. Criminal dealers cannot
compete in a legal market and licensed dealers won't sell to kids.
That's why we don't see bootleggers selling booze in the schoolyards
the way they did in the 1920s.

Legalization and regulation will greatly reduce children's access to
drugs and eliminate all "drug crime" caused by empowering a criminal
black market.

Redford Givens
San Francisco