REAL COSTS OF DRUG PROHIBITION

Terrorism is funded by drug profits. Let's not stop there. Ever wonder why
terrorists don't get their money selling toasters or wallets? They need the
outrageous profits that can come only from illegal products that are priced
50 times their normal value.

Prohibition's appeal is telling people what they can and cannot ingest. But
we pay for this privilege - and pay and pay. First we pay $19 billion to
wage the war on drugs. Then we pay $60 billion to arrest and incarcerate
millions of people who are simple drug users. Then we pay the price of
inevitable police corruption. Next we pay $47 billion because of increased
crime surrounding the drug trade. Then drug users in this country spend an
extra $100 billion due to inflated prices. Where does this money go? It
goes to foreigners, some of whom despise us. A few dislike us so much that
they buy weapons and try to kill us. To prevent this, we pay $340 billion
for defense. Defense is always imperfect, so we pay addition billions for
the inevitable destruction that sneaks through.

Drug users are a fact of life. Some countries have gone so far as institute
a death penalty for drug use. The result? The drug users simply went
further underground. Even if you put every American into jail, drugs would
still be prevalent. We can see prisoners today that have managed to smuggle
drugs into prison.

We can't get rid of the users, but we can get rid of the profits, just was
we did for alcohol when we ended Prohibition. Do you still want to tell
your neighbors what they can and can't ingest? Better be ready to pay the
price: More than $1,000 from each of us, year after year. Me, I'd rather go
to Hawaii.

Charley Hooper,
Grass Valley