REMOVE THE PROFIT MOTIVE

To the editor:

Thanks to the Delta Democrat Times for publishing the outstanding letter
from John Chase: "Remove illegal drug profit" (Dec. 23).

I'd like to add that decriminalization of drugs is not the answer. The
answer is full re-legalization of all types of recreational drugs and
having them legally available in local pharmacies for pennies per dose.

This would eliminate: the "forbidden fruit" appeal of drugs, the
profit motive for drug dealers and thus drug dealers, as we know them
today.

This would also eliminate most of the harms of recreational drugs
because the drugs would be of known quality, known purity and known
potency.

The drugs could then be regulated, controlled and taxed by our
government instead of criminal gangs.

Speaking of taxes, only legal products can be taxed by our government.
By keeping recreational drugs as criminalized products, we are
throwing away several hundred billion dollars in potential tax income.

It seems to me that non-drug users should welcome the idea of taxing a
product they don't use.

Kirk Muse,

Mesa, Ariz.