IT'S TIME TO RETHINK OUR DRUG POLICIES

Politicians still speak of winning the war on drugs, but that war is
over. And guess what? We lost.

Despite all government efforts to the contrary, our borders are
becoming ever more porous to hard drugs. American entrepreneurial
genius has made marijuana a major cash crop in many states, and meth
labs are popping faster than we can close them. Isn't it high time we
rethought our drug policies?

As with alcohol, prostitution and gambling, control funded through
taxation makes more sense than attempted eradication, an admirable
but futile undertaking. Legalization with control not only removes
the allure of drug profits but impacts the companion crimes of
prostitution, theft and police corruption. It will also relieve a
criminal justice system overwhelmed with simple marijuana possession cases.

There is little correlation between harsher drug laws and drug abuse.
Norway and Sweden share a common border and Nordic culture. Norway
has moderate drug policies while Sweden's laws are much stricter. But
both have essentially the same addiction rates.

A Zogby poll published last May in The Economist magazine found a
narrow majority of Americans favor some form of legalization and
control. But this, in no way, means approval, merely acceptance of reality.

GEORGE B. REED JR.

Fort Oglethorpe