TIME TO END THE WAR ON DRUGS

I am not in anyway opposed to law enforcement. As a civilized society
we must have it. However, we do not need law enforcement which
functions in such a way that it becomes oppressive. Sadly enough, in
one way or another, the problem stems from or is influenced by, The
War on Drugs, and why we need to fight to end The War on Drugs.

To end this war, where do we start? There are so many important
reasons.

Drug prohibition creates a lucrative black market that causes violence
and disorder, particularly in the inner cities. It draws young people
into lives of crime. Thousands of Americans die from drug overdoses or
poisonings by adulterants every year. Most of these deaths would be
preventable through quality control which would exist if drugs were
legal.

Our (America's) drug was in the South American Andes fuels a
continuing civil war in Columbia, with prohibition-generated illicit
drug profits aiding its escalation. Opium growing, and the attempts to
stop it, both hurt Afghanistan's attempts at nation building and helps
our enemies.

Profiling assaults the dignity of members of minority groups, and of
the poor, denying them equal justice. From drug testing in our
schools, to SWAT and SLANT teams invading our homes and terrorizing
our children and handicapped persons, assaulting the citizenry's very
existence, privacy has been gutted.

That's not all of it, and it isn't a pretty picture. This is why we
must oppose drug laws.

N. Bill Smeathers,

Freeport