DRUGS WILL BE WITH US WHILE DEMAND EXISTS

So, Benjamin Arellano-Felix, reputed Mexican drug lord, allegedly
responsible for hundreds of murders on both sides of the border, is
captured, and a Mexican journalist who was recently threatened or wounded
by the gang says that another criminal will merely step in to replace Senor
Arellano-Felix, as long as there's a demand in the United States for
illegal drugs.

Maybe it's time to consider the advice of noted conservative William F.
Buckley, who says we should legalize drugs for adults and kill anyone who
supplies them to minors.

Joseph Califano, former head of the federal Department of Health, Education
and Welfare, strongly disagrees, pointing out that we have legal alcohol
and tobacco and have far more alcohol and tobacco addicts than cocaine or
heroin addicts. But probably most adults addicted to alcohol or tobacco
began using them while minors.

A friend of mine who's a specialist in addiction also disliked Buckley's
idea, saying someone in a weak moment could go into a drugstore and decide
to try cocaine and thereby end up ruining his life. But suppose we made
adults prove they knew the dangers and also were not depressed or unstable
and made them wait two or three weeks for each supply?

Jack Kroeg,
Greenville