Make methadone, not war

RE: “Colombia’s Death Squads

09/01/00

This military aid to Colombia is the latest in a long string of hypocrisies in our “war on drugs.” Our nation has long needed a more balanced approach to the drug problem. We can effectively prevent drug smuggling at our borders and still provide funding for much-needed education and rehabilitation.

Robert Kulaya

 



Latin America re-runs

RE: “Colombia’s Death Squads

08/31/00

This is step one toward involvement of the same sort we had in El Salvador in the early 1980s and in Guatemala from the 1960s on. It is a shame that Bill Clinton is besmirching his political party with this horror on the eve of a fresh election. It will drive many toward the Greens.

Constance Myers
Columbia, S.C.



Capitalism more destructive than communism

RE: “The Baku Blues

08/30/00

I look forward to reading the next installment of your series. Fifty years of the Cold War was never able to produce the same amount of economic/environmental damage as nine years of capitalism. I’m beginning to get the feeling that ‘Soviet Communism Part II’ will be underway soon.

Barbara Gallegos



Keep your laws off my booze

RE: “Gore on Drugs

08/29/00

I agree 100 percent with your article. Our nation’s drug policies are a travesty. Unfortunately, I feel the anti-drug propaganda has been so pervasive for years that even more moderate or liberal politicians are afraid to do much to change things. The reason for this is that more conservative or Republican politicians would immediately label them as “soft on crime” or “giving kids the wrong message” or some other fear-based barrage, to strike fear in the American public.

I think the public is catching on though. Some of the ballot issues that have been passed over the past several years have allowed the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Brian Dadisman



08/29/00

I think it’s interesting to point out Gore’s hypocrisy, but it really does nothing to answer the basic question of why the government should be so concerned with what you choose to do with your body. I think the libertarians have the right position on this one — why is it the government’s business if you choose to partake in sensibly or kill yourself with alcohol or tobacco or drugs or high-fat foods or any of a host of “evils” that both liberals and conservatives seem to love attacking.

It seems as though both liberals and conservatives want to control our bodies and what we choose to do with them. You’d think that in a world where huge transnational entities are usurping power almost daily, where CEOs make hundreds of times more than ordinary workers, where government tries to snoop on its citizens more and more, there are more important things to worry about than what I choose to partake in when I am in my home.

Patrick Marchman



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From packing heat to packing PACs

RE: “Al Gore on Drugs

08/28/00

Alcohol prohibition financed criminal organizations and the result was rampant bloodshed and fear. Drug prohibition has had the same results, also causing an increase in the potency of most drugs. Why hasn’t the government gotten the simple message that their citizens are in pain and need some good answers as to how to relieve this pain?

Unfortunately, I think the answer all comes down to simple greed on a grand scale. The old criminals packed away their guns and started giving PAC money to the legal criminals so as to cut down on the competition. It’s good to be on the side of the law if you’re a criminal. It always has been.

Steven Hartley



Maybe some Southern Comfort would help

RE: “Al Gore on Drugs

08/28/00

I agree that pouring billions into the war on drugs is wrong. But, my Lord, let’s not give anyone any ideas about banning alcohol too. Most Americans drink in moderation.

As for Gore, a few snorts of wine might loosen him up, and do him some good in the polls.

Bill Crowe