THERE ARE DRUGS AND THERE ARE DRUG-CONTROLLING FORCES

I couldn't resist noting the similarities between two very different news
stories on very different subjects.

There is a prescription drug crisis in the country. While inflation trudges
along at 1 or 2 percent, the price of medical care in general and
prescription drug medication specifically is going up between 5 and 15
percent per year. It seems the pharmaceutical industry has a voracious
appetite for higher consumer prices and higher profit margins.

At the same time, the illegal drug interdiction and enforcement agencies are
having trouble stopping the production of illegal drugs in other countries,
the importing of these drugs and the widespread use of these drugs by
Americans. The best barometer of the effectiveness of the misguided drug
policies is to look at the street prices of heroin, cocaine and pot. Prices
are going down, which means the supply is going up, which means that more,
not less, is coming into this country.

It seems to me that we could kill two birds with one stone if we put the DEA
in charge of the pharmaceutical industry and make all prescription drugs
illegal. If the DEA holds true to its 30-year history, before long prices
will go down as the supply increases. With the pharmaceutical industry in
charge of illegal drugs, soon these drugs will be so expensive that nobody
will be able to afford them.

Jon Henderson

Huelo