ADMIT WE LOST THE WAR ON DRUGS

Legalizing marijuana would be a great start in admitting that the "war
on drugs" has been a failure. All of those poisons are readily
available at high prices everywhere.

The same was true during prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the
1920s.

For California the savings by legalizing all drugs (marijuana would be
half of that) would be $20 billion per year - equal to our state
budget deficit. No incarcerations at $50,000 per drug felon per year
would save us $10 billion to $12 billion per year. Prison employee
officials would be cut by 75 percent, law enforcement by 50 percent.

Courtrooms and public defenders would be cut. The decrease in murders,
assaults, burglaries and robberies would make us all safer. We would
get some revenue by taxing the sale of drugs just as we do alcoholic
beverages.

We cannot beat the drug peddlers. We can eliminate their profit
motive. Let's start with Proposition 19.

Bernard Levinson, M.D.

Palm Desert