DECRIMINALIZATION IS THE SOLUTION TO DRUG ABUSE

I'm writing about Emily Groff's column: "War On Drugs Inadequate"
(9-29-05). If tough-on-drugs policies worked, the quixotic goal of a
drug-free America would have been reached a long time ago. And if
tolerant drug policies created more drug use, the Netherlands would
have much higher drug usage rates than the United States.

They do not. In fact, the Dutch use marijuana and other recreational
drugs at much lower rates than Americans do. See the web site:
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/thenethe.htm

And if tolerant drug policies caused more overall crime, especially
violent crime, the Dutch would have much higher crime rates than the
United States. They do not. The Dutch murder rate is less than one-
third the U.S. per capita murder rate and their rate of incarceration
is about one-seventh the U.S. incarceration rate. In the Netherlands,
marijuana is sold to adults, without criminal sanctions, in coffee shops.

In the United States, marijuana is sold by criminals who often sell
other, much more dangerous drugs, and offer free samples of the more
dangerous drugs to their marijuana customers - thus the gateway effect.

Legalize, regulate and control the sale of marijuana and we close the
gateway. Legalize all types of recreational drugs and sell them in
licensed business establishments, and we will make the term "drug-
related crime" obsolete.

Kirk Muse