LEGALIZE AND CONTROL DRUGS TO END DRUG CRIME

Of all the federal programs in existence, the War on Drugs is by far
the greatest policy failure in history. If it was a program to end
child poverty and after a year of operation there were twice as many
children in poverty, people would be screaming to end or at least
change it, or not fund it. News people would be raining articles about
what a waste it is, and what our leaders should do about it. In the
case of the War on Drugs - nada, nothing, not a peep? What's up with
that?

We could end the war tomorrow. Tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol
for adults. For the hard drugs you could do something like this:
Loaded in public - rehab. Loaded and do a crime - rehab, then pay for
your crime. That is loaded on anything, legal or not. Addicts can
register with a doctor and get their drugs - heroin, cocaine, meth,
etc. The doctor would then have one year to get them into rehab. Then
perhaps some criminal sanction if you don't report and have to be picked up.

This would free the police to focus on real criminals and not sick
addicts. It would save billions in criminal costs. Nevada estimates it
would raise $28 million in fees and taxes if it just legalized
marijuana for adults. Imagine the equivalent of that in all 50 states!
But the greatest benefit is that it would deal a huge blow to the
criminal element, gangs, terrorists or anybody who funds their
activities by selling drugs. No money to pay for the guns that
indiscriminately kill hundreds of our citizens every year, like what
happened in New Jersey last week where four young people were executed
during a robbery.

The DEA claims there are no studies showing marijuana is safe. But it
had to be ordered by a judge to stop withholding marijuana from
researchers so they could do their studies. You have to ask yourself
this: If the DEA is so sure marijuana is harmful, why does it fear
scientific studies on marijuana?

MSgt. Thomas A. Vance, USAF (Ret.), lives in Alexandria.