Violence Is Out of Hand

DRUG LAWS DON'T WORK; IT'S TIME TO TRY LEGALIZING THEM

The illegal drug trade in Western New York has turned many of our
inner-city streets into war zones. The simple act of sitting on one's
porch to converse with a neighbor or watch the kids play ball in the
street is to risk one's life. Turf wars or retaliation for a drug
deal gone bad have filled our morgues and cemeteries with both
intended and unintended casualties. Yet the game plan stays the same,
the strategy of reducing drug use and peddling goes unchanged,
despite the same devastating results.

When I spoke out and asked for a discussion on the legalization and
regulation of illegal drugs, I was called crazy by law enforcement
officials. The topic was deemed so outlandish that it did not deserve
a second response.

However, despite the public opinion of those whose job it is to
protect our citizens, there are others who feel it's time for a
change. Former Tonawanda Police Capt. Peter Christ is one of those
individuals. Christ is a spokesman for Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition, or LEAP www.leap.cc. LEAP has more than 2,000 current
and former police officers, judges and private citizens who do not
feel it's crazy to change the strategy in combating drugs.

Prohibition did not work in the 20th century to curtail alcohol use.
It funded an underworld that preyed on the public's desire for a
drink and killed anyone who stood in its way. Today the prohibition
on drugs has taken the violence to an even greater level. It's not
just the drug pushers who are being gunned down by their rivals, but
anyone who is unfortunate enough to be within range.

My stance on legalizing drugs does not mean that I am in favor of
drug use. On the contrary, I believe legalizing drugs gives us a
fighting chance to control the indiscriminate killing and violence
and treat those who crave the substance. Those who are proclaimed
criminals because of drug usage are not inclined to seek help. Those
who die from a "hot shot" because of unregulated substances flowing
through their veins also cannot come forward.

One argument against legalization is what kind of message it may send
to our children. Legalized drugs would be, in my opinion, more
stringently regulated than alcohol or cigarettes among minors. Drug
usage would no more be condoned among teens than drinking or smoking.
The current system makes it easier to score an illegal drug in our
high schools than a can of beer. Does that make sense?

I believe that regulating the drug trade would be more civilized than
allowing it to be unregulated and controlled by killers and thugs. I
believe that allowing experts to discuss and create proper
distribution strategies is not crazy. I believe that by regulating
and taxing drug use, we create revenue streams to properly educate
our youth and treat the drug user.

Teen use of cigarettes is going down because of years of education.
Taking drug use out of the closet and dealing with it, as opposed to
fooling ourselves that the war is being won, is not crazy. What is
crazy is dealing with this problem as we have been for the past 70
years and thinking we are winning.