PAUL WOULD END THE LOST WAR ON DRUGS

At first glance, Ron Paul's position on drugs may seem contrary to
conventional wisdom, but that's because what has become conventional
is not wisdom.

1) Much of federal drug laws operate outside of powers delegated to
the government. Enforcement operates contrary to constitutional
restraints. They break the law in the name of public policy. Where is
the wisdom in this?

2) The "War on Drugs" is supposed to stop the import, manufacture,
distribution, and use of harmful "psychoactive" substances. So after
40 years we should have the problem pretty much licked, right?

Wrong! Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent while the
problem has increased many fold, and there is no end in sight. Where
is the wisdom in this?

3) Continuing unlawful, ineffective and expensive policies that have
themselves ruined the lives of many innocent or harmless people - this
is not the answer.

So, guess what? Ron Paul wants to implement a policy that is lawful
and actually has a chance of working. There is wisdom in this.

What are the odds that out of 50 state experiments in solving the drug
problem, several will develop lawful policies that work and other
states will follow suit? What are the odds that patients will be
helped by legitimate medical uses of certain drugs? There is wisdom in
this.

Why don't we try something that makes sense for a change?

Harvey Bluedorn

New Boston, Ill.