LEGALIZE SOME DRUGS

I read that the Rockingham County Jail is overcrowded, and they are
planning to expand it in five or six years. Sending people to jail is
not supposed to be a money-making proposition. Too many people make
their living from holding other people prisoner.

This cruel industry has to be stopped before it grows out of control
and swallows up all the free-thinking people of our country - leaving
nobody on the outside but tyrannical leaders and terrorized slaves.

What we need to do is stop locking people up for petty stuff, and use
the plentiful space we already have to house dangerous prisoners and
those in need of rehabilitation.

For example, the level of punishment for drunken driving has gotten
ridiculous.

Putting people in jail just for having drugs they're not supposed to
is senseless. The victims of these politically-motivated policies are
going to come out traumatized and more dysfunctional than before. The
money would be better spent on health care, prevention, and treatment
of the underlying causes of substance abuse.

Not legalizing drugs is stupid. It makes them so expensive that
normally peaceful addicts have to turn to crime to get their fix.

Higher drug prices also line the pockets of gangsters, making them
even more powerful and violent. Spend your construction money finding
out where the drugs are coming from, so you can take the real
criminals off the streets, and we will all live more peacefully with a
sense of security.

Tod Hirsch,

Harrisonburg