A CASE FOR DECRIMINALIZATION

Concerning the "War on Drugs" ... Ms. Makuaole, seems to have missed
Mr. Tamm's point, perhaps because of headline choice.

Ms. Makuaole, people make bad choices in their lives. Expecting the
government to protect people from themselves only gives the
government more power.

Mr. Tamm was mistaken when he said the "War on Drugs" started because
of the Hippies. That war has been going on practically forever and
its purpose has never been to stop drug use. One example is the Opium
Wars between Britain and China around 1840. Britain basically forced
China to continue importing opium.

There are many groups in the U.S., including within the government
itself, which do not want to "win" the war on drugs. Indeed, the
Oliver North used proceeds from selling crack cocaine in the slums of
L.A. to finance the Iran-Contra affair during the Reagan administration.

Also, there are many stories about judges who get kick-backs from
private prisons for sentencing children to jail for drug use. The war
on drugs has corrupted our government.

Sending your children to jail for years is no way to help them. If
you think they'll hate you because you don't approve of their drug
use, they will despise you for putting them in jail, and then they
will be lost forever. Unless someone comes up with a better idea, I
support de-criminalization.

John Zwiebel, Kalaheo