HISTORY SAYS LEGAL DRUGS BEST

I'm writing about Alan Randell's thoughtful letter: "LEGALIZE IT"

(8-27-04). I'd like to ask if Desoxyn, the legal pharmaceutical form
of methamphetamine was legally available to adults without a
prescription in local pharmacies for pennies per dose, would we have
illegal clandestine meth labs throughout the U. S. and Canada? I don't
think so.

Ninety years ago, all types of recreational drugs were legally
available in local pharmacies for pennies per dose--including pure
pharmaceutical grade Bayer heroin.

Ninety years ago, the term "drug-related crime" didn't exist. Neither
did drug lords, drug cartels or even drug dealers as we know them today.

Ninety years ago, Coca-Cola contained cocaine instead of caffeine and
sold for 5 cents a bottle. Ninety years ago, deaths from recreational
drugs were very rare. That's because the drugs were of known quality,
known purity and known potency. That's just the opposite of the
bootleg, black market illegal drugs of today.

When U. S. alcohol prohibition was terminated in 1933 it was not
because they decided that alcohol was not so bad after all, but rather
because of the crime and corruption that prohibition caused.

When alcohol prohibition was terminated in 1933, the U. S. overall
crime rate decreased substantially. Our murder rate declined for 10
consecutive years.

Obviously, we have not learned any lessons from this experience.

Kirk Muse