DRUG WARRIORS ARE LOSING GROUND

Dear Editor,

As the drug war juggernaut lurches on, cracks in its armor are
appearing. Hallelujah! The government's "drug czar," titular head of the
odiously named "Office of National Drug Policy," is desperately stumping
against marijuana decriminalization initiatives in a grwoing number of
states. Blatantly out of step with the American public on the issue of
decriminalization, trying to rev up a new "reefer madness" campaign, the
goose-stepping drug warriors definately have reasons to be anxious and
alarmed: a grwoing chorus of voices calling for the decriminalization of
marijuana threatens their chokehold on America.

For years, my theory has been that a populace legally allowed to get stoned
would be a populace less prone to blind obedience, less prone to jingoistic
patriotism and war-mongering and less likely to be contented as mere
consumers and spectators in life. And more likely to question. The
greatest threat to America's drift toward fascism and those driving it is a
populace emboldened to question.

Perhaps, once marijuana is decriminalized and children can look forward to
legally smoking it when they reach the legal, they'll be inclined to
wait. And perhaps they'll take lots of time to reflect on the critical
choices they will make, on which substances -- legal or illegal -- to
partake of.

Robert Waldmire

Rochester