DRUG WAR

Legalization Would Remove Huge Profits

In response to Jerry Hurley's letter, ("Profits from sales support
terrorism," The Gazette, Jan. 24) accusing anyone who uses drugs of
treason, I would like to say that to equate anyone with a different
viewpoint on drugs of being guilty of treason is ludicrous.

The war on drugs is a total failure. It has done so much harm to families
and we have lost so many of our freedoms because of it. There have been
millions of dollars worth of property seized from people who were never
charged with or convicted of a crime.

Making something illegal will not stop it from being. If drugs were legal,
most of the profit would be gone and the reason to sell would diminish.

Tobacco and alcohol are both addictive and harmful and yet they are legal.
Why not legalize drugs, that way the government can at least have some
control? They can be taxed and the money used on treatment and education.
Colorado spends less on treatment than almost any other state and also has
one of the highest number of marijuana users. This will also take a lot of
the profit out of drugs and the money won't be going to the terrorists, if
indeed it is now.

Joe Bost, Colorado Springs