Pubdate: Sun, 08 Dec 2002 Source: News-Press (FL) Copyright: 2002 The News-Press Contact: http://www.news-press.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1133 Author: Tom Clark WAR ON DRUGS A LOSER The murder rate in recent months has gone up. It doesn't take a Ph.D. to see a correlation between the drug trade and these murders. History has a way of repeating itself. The only problem is that the people we elect can't see it. The second biggest mistake our legislators made in our history was the passing of the 18th Amendment. Prohibition of intoxicating liquor brought on our second biggest decade of crime, graft and murder. The only ones that profited from Prohibition were the gangsters and crooked politicians and cops. It took 15 years for the country to wise-up and repeal that amendment. Though this time we don't have an amendment, we have another prohibition. This time is drugs. History is again repeating itself. We have decades of crime, graft and murder. The war on drugs isn't working now nor will it ever. It's not up to the government to tell anyone what he or she can put in his or her body, whether it is alcohol or any other drug. The Libertarian way is for people to take responsibility for themselves. Treat all drugs as we do alcohol. Use the tax money to educate and rehabilitate. TOM CLARK Cape Coral - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom