SIMPLE STORY HAS MODERN LESSON

Dear Editor,

Does everyone recall the fable "The Emperor's New Clothes?"

The story was so simple, a con man used the arrogant ego of a closed minded
ruler to sell him something that didn't exist.

We, the citizens of America, are that ruler and our Government is the con
man. The scam that we have been taken in by is the so called "war on drugs."

This "war" has only one true purpose and that is to desensitize the public
to an ever increasing government intrusion into their lives by claiming the
intrusions are needed for the public good.

The "war on drugs" is many times more destructive to our society and our
freedoms than the drugs the "war" is being waged upon.

The abuse of drugs, both illegal and legal, can ruin a person's health and
destroy their life.

Overeating, excessive sunbathing and leading a sedentary lifestyle can also
lead to disaster.

These three life choices put hundreds of thousands in the grave every year,
does that indicate a need for laws making these things illegal? May any
government dictate what a person does with their own body and mind? I say
absolutely not. Common sense and truth were the first victims in this war.
An example of the truth would be several of the drugs currently illegal do
have medical uses.

Marijuana has been successfully used in clinical trials to alleviate the
symptoms of many diseases, hallucinogenic drugs have proven useful in the
treatment of some forms of mental illness and the leaves of the coca plant
(used to make cocaine) have been chewed by millions of people in South
America as a stimulant for thousands of years.

Decriminalization and eventual legalization of drugs is already occurring
in several European countries.

Government reports released from these countries do not indicate an
increase in use of various drugs but an actual decrease in usage by their
populations.

Tens of billions of dollars are spent by our Federal, State and local
governments nationwide to combat illegal drugs.

If a private company spent this much money on a project and obtained only
trivial results year after year it would wreck the financial stability of
that company.

But our government insists on pouring billions into this social "sinkhole"
and the source of these funds is the American taxpayer. We have more
important issues facing our nation that need these billions instead of
wasting them in this bogus "war on drugs." It is time we look at the truth
on this issue and ignore government propaganda.

John David Armstrong

Albertville