Lit_Match

Ending war on drugs would be real change
3-11-08|The Enquirer|BY THOMAS VANCE

Change: It seems to be the mantra of not only the Democrats, but Sen. John McCain as well. He has picked up the chant, too, pointing out his maverick reputation.

But the central question remains: What will real change amount to? Health care for all our citizens, winning the war on terror, a better break for the middle class, no more dependence on foreign energy?

Even if all these things happen, will it amount to any kind of real change? Will you still be worried if you have to use a cash machine late at night? Will there still be gang violence if we all have health care? Will you still worry that your kids are in a dangerous place trying to score some weed? Will people still be afraid to sit on their front porch without getting hit by a stray bullet?

Try this: Bring up the subject of marijuana in a crowd like a restaurant or store and use the word drugs or marijuana in a somewhat loud voice. Watch the people near you automatically lower their voices or move away from you - out of what? Bad hygiene? Bad breath? No, they lower their voices out of fear. Not fear of drug dealers or users - they move away and lower their voices out of fear of the law! Someone might say, "I heard so-and-so talking about drugs," etc.

I don't know about you, but as a lifelong defender of this great nation, this is certainly not the America I fought for.

The huge black market in drugs is the financial machine that pays for the gangs and guns and violence that plague us all, from large city to little burg. If these politicians really want change, they will get serious about ending this long nightmare.

There will be no real change in America until the "police state-like cloud" of the war on drugs, which hangs over the country like smog over L.A., is dissipated by the fresh wind and bright light of personal freedom.

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Donation links to NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) | MPP (Marijuana Policy Project)