DRUG WAR STEMS FROM ILLEGALITY

Finally, people such as Gwynne Dyer are coming to grips with what
Libertarians have recognized for the last 35 years: The war on drugs,
which has really been a war on people, is the most destructive and
counterproductive war ever.

Like Prohibition, it stops no one from using and definitely increases
the use of drugs. Drug prohibition has been responsible for crime,
corruption, gang warfare, jail overcrowding, the destruction of
families, unnecessary loss of lives and property, and helps fund our
enemies such as the Taliban.

Perhaps most damaging of all is that the nearly trillion dollars spent
has enlarged government and its control over our lives, and gutted our
freedoms like those confirmed by the Fourth, Fifth, and 14th amendments.

Yes, government should hold us responsible for our actions, but it
should have no say in what we ingest. Any peaceful activity by or
between consenting adults is none of government's business.

One only has to look at tobacco and liquor and the complications that
occur through criminalization.

There was a time when now-illegal drugs were sold over the counter. It
was a far more peaceful and productive time.

It's time to re-legalize drugs, but don't expect those who are now
imbedded and benefited to go away without a fight.

Jim Boehm

Drummond Road