Legalizing Illicit Drugs
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In a Dec. 11 Harvard speech, drug czar William Bennett castigated “American intellectuals” for their support of decriminalization of offenses related to harmful, addictive drugs (Part A, Dec. 12).
“Get with the program,” Bennett told his audience. What is the program? According to The Times, Bennett contended that criminal sanctions provide a vital “incentive to stay away from a life of drugs.”
What evidence could Bennett possibly cite to support such a claim? It flies in the face of all experience with attempts at prohibition of intoxicating substances.
If decriminalization is a recipe for “public policy disaster,” what is Bennett’s program? Will wars in Colombia reduce the flow of drugs? Will banning importation of five dozen semiautomatic rifles keep fully automatic weapons out of drug dealers’ hands? Will stiffer penalties deter sellers who stand to make billions or buyers who already risk their sanity, health, and very life for a high?
Bennett and President Bush are the ones who need to get with the program.
LEE W. SMITH
West Los Angeles
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