DRUG WAR FAILS MISSION TO ELIMINATE SEVERE PROBLEM

I had a very strange thing happen to me Saturday afternoon.

I was at a local gas station and inside there was a police officer chatting
with another customer. They were discussing the drug problem in Johnson
City and areas where drugs are readily available.

Then, the policeman said something that almost knocked my socks off. He
said that he is to the point where he thinks if people want to harm
themselves by doing drugs, then they should be allowed to do so.

WHAT? A cop actually has the same outlook on drugs that I do.

I have always thought that there would be many benefits to the legalization
of all controlled substances, and yes, that includes cocaine, heroine and
other drugs that are well known for their harsh effects on the body. First
of all, I think people should be able to do as they wish with their own
bodies. Doing drugs in moderation hurts no one but the user.

Obviously, if you smoke crack 24 hours a day and you have a family to take
care of, you have a problem. But, that is a problem that needs to be dealt
with by the family.

Doctors could be called in when the circumstances are dire, but I truly
think that most of the time, family support and love would help addicts
recover.

The people that have the will-power to only use highly addictive drugs
occasionally should be allowed to do so if they want.

I consider marijuana less harmful than alcohol, but a lot of medical
experts disagree with that claim. My reasoning is this: If you drink enough
to get drunk every day for a year, you will have no liver left, and you
will be hopelessly addicted to alcohol. Your withdrawal symptoms will
include those wonderful Delirium Tremors (DTs), or "jonesing" as most
people call it. In other words, you'll look like you have Parkinson's disease.

Smoke a joint or two a day for a year and you will be the same you, just
with fewer brain cells (which is also the case with alcohol) and most
likely a yucky cough. Stopping smoking would be hard, but there is
absolutely no physical withdrawal. Marijuana is only psychologically
addictive. I could be wrong, but I think lungs might be easier to clean out
and heal than a liver transplant.

Could it be possible that even the enforcers of the law are seeing the
absurdity of the war on drugs? I don't think they realize that if they
would legalize all that stuff, their goals could be met. Government control
over illicit drugs would put the greedy, thug drug dealers quietly out of
business. There would be no armed robberies for crack money because it
would be priced reasonably at the local drug store.

I know that legalization of all drugs would have its problems, but doesn't
the war on drugs fall a little short itself?

The point is that no plan is perfect, but what we are doing now is not
working and obviously the police are seeing it too. Hopefully one day, we
can look back on this drug prohibition and realize where we went wrong,
just like we do today with prohibition of alcohol.

What would happen if one politician said openly that he or she supported
the repeal of the prohibition laws?

Would all the recreational drug users put down the pipe or the needle long
enough to go vote, or would they be so messed up on drugs they would forget
election day?

The election results might be surprising.