LEGALIZE ... ALL OF IT

Re. "Legalize it" by Steven Craig, opinion, Aug. 12 In his usually
thoughtfully done column, Steven Craig claims our elected politicians
will have a tough job using some complicated "social cost benefit
analysis" to decide whether legalizing pot would be in the best
interest of the "people." It ain't that hard, Steve! If your piece's
header was "Allow It?" that would imply the allower actually had some
legal right to decide what's best for each individual in "the people."
Our rulers don't. Indeed, what kind of control freak would even want
to dictate to you what you could eat or drink? If she openly claimed
that right and you had voted her in, you'd deserve her!

Our forefathers wrote a Constitution and Bill of Rights to protect each
individual from government officials who even imagined they had some
right, let alone a duty to decide things like what each of us puts in
his mouth! The founders knew their job was to enforce individual rights
and freedom. Now . of course all drugs from meth to heroin to Lipitor
should be legal and freely available without doctor or government
permissions now as they were for 150+ years from the republic's
beginning. Let's end the insane drug war now and save billions of wasted
dollars and thousands of lives. How did we manage all those years to
become the leader of the world? How did we get along without the DEA,
FDA, licensing of doctors, lawyers, hospitals, insurers, businesses?

Answer: Darn well, indeed. Individuals took care of themselves and
demanded to be left alone by severely limited government. No
bureaucrats/meddlers were needed nor permitted to be Allowers/Deciders
because the framers knew there was no "public interest" - only
individual interests which, if unfettered, were always matchlessly met
by free market capitalism, not government force. Contrast that with
today's socialist welfare-warfare state disaster, run by crooked
politician/bankers and populated by servile Orwellian puppets!

It's not too late to reestablish real freedom here again and get back
to our roots . even in Summit County. In fact, it's our kids' and
grandkids' only hope. But remember, if you want to be free you must
allow others to be free too.

Donald R. Cochran,
Dillon