From: explorer@ziggys.cts.com (Diehl Ahriex)  619/262-6384
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Dear Abby Does It Again !!!
Message-ID: 
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 94 00:08:55 PDT


  Once again, 'Dear Abby' sounds the call to lay down arms in the WOsD :






        It's time to sound retreat in wasteful war on drugs


      Dear Readers: Yesterday I published letters from some readers
    who disagreed that drugs should be legalized. Today we'll hear
    from some of the surprisingly large number who favor legaliza-
    tion.

      Dear Abby: I commend you for sharing your misgivings about 
    America's war on drugs. You are not alone. Milton Friedman,
    George Schultz and William Buckley (to mention a few conserva-
    tives) have all looked askance at the results of indiscriminate
    drug prohibition: overcrowded prisons, eroded civil liberties,
    disrespect for laws in general and a huge, growing black market.
      Countries like the Netherlands regulate popular use of alcohol,
    tobacco and cannabis without fear of social collapse. Is it sur-
    prising that while the Dutch government trusts its citizens to 
    behave moderately, drug abuse is less of a problem there?
      American kids perceive the contradiction of our government telling     
    them to "just say no" while continuing to subsidize the tobacco 
    industry.
                                        -- Oregon Reader

      Dear Abby: I'm an inmate convicted of possession of an excess of
    1 ounce of marijuana, which is a felony here in Georgia.
      I wholeheartedly agree on the legalization of certain controlled
    substances. I have smoked marijuana off and on for 30 years -- since
    I was 19 -- and i have known people who have smoked it who are now
    in their 50s and 60s. All are reliable family people, and none has 
    committed a violent crime.
      In Atlanta last year, there was a smoke fest, and 30,000 people 
    gathered. Pot was smoked openly, there were no arrests and everyone
    behaved in a proper manner. Look at Sweden and other countries where
    pot is legal, and you will see it has done no harm to their people.
                                        -- Inmate 321943, Forsyth, GA.

      Dear Abby: While many will find the idea of legalizing drugs
    morally repugnant, people don't seem to realize that with the stroke
    of a pen we could eliminate the following:
      * Wasted money and human lives spent on continuing the war on 
    drugs -- which was lost long ago.
      * Street gangs, and the violence and death associated with them.
    (They survive on drug sales.)
      * A majority of robberies, burglaries, carjackings and muggings --
    which are mostly perpetrated by addicts in need of money for drugs.
      Morality is one thing, but when are we going to wake up and solve
    all these major problems with one simple bill? A prescription system
    might be the most sensible solution.
                                        -- Common Sense in Sherman Oaks

      Dear Abby: I believe our government's scare tactics have backfired,
    making criminals out of decent citizens. In addition, no one can
    estimate the quality of drugs sold illegally under the table by
    crooks. If drugs were treated the way alcohol and cigarettes are --
    regulated and taxed -- our country would be a much saner place. I am
    an occupational therapist with the U.S.Navy. (Please withold my name
    for obvious reasons.)
                                        -- Madrid, Spain


-------------------------------end-----------------------------------------


        'Dear Abby' promises one more letter tomorrow - unknown whether
        it'll be pro or con, but there must be some special reason she's
        holding it for tomorrow..........




You may be disappointed if you fail,
   but you are doomed if you don't try!
                        -- Beverly Sills

                                                EXPLORER

=============================================================================

From: stafford@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Gale)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs,talk.politics.drugs
Subject: Dear Abby looks at drug policy:  Ethan Nadelman letter
Date: 22 Jun 1994 18:17:32 GMT
Message-ID: <2u9v7s$k2h@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu>

This Dear Abby column is from June 22, 1994 Chicago Tribune.  
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Is a drug-free society possible in the U.S.?

Dear Abby:  May I commend you for your open-minded and courageous 
response to those who have expressed doubts about the war on drugs.
Millions of Americans now recognize that drug prohibition is responsible
for many, perhaps most, of our drug problems.  It is time for the 
government to respond to the appeals of Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, 
former Secretary of State George Schultz, Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore,
and others who recommend that we re-evaluate our current drug policies. 

Our choices are not limited to either fighting a war on drugs or legalizing
them.  There is, in fact, a spectrum of options.  We can learn much from
Europe and Australia, where governments have turned their backs on the 
"war on drugs."  They began by accepting the obvious:  That it is both 
futile and dangerous to try to create a drug-free society.  Focus instead,
they insist, on reducing the dangers associated with drug use if people
continue to use them.  To stop the spread of AIDS, we must make sure that 
junkies have access to clean needles; make it easy for addicts to obtain 
methadone; give heroin maintenance programs a chance to work; decriminalize
marijuana; stop spending billions on incarcerating drug users and drug 
dealers.  We know we can reduce drug abuse more effectively by spending
that money on education, pre- and post-natal care, and job training 
programs.  

We must not forget that drug users are citizens in most cases, and human 
beings as well.  We can reduce drug abuse in American without creating a 
climate of fear, hatred and intolerance.  

Ethan Nadelman, Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, 
Princeton University