One danger is never mentioned in discussing the drug problem -
corruption. The immense amount of money in the drug trade has already
corrupted the police force in Mexican and the police and legal system in
Colombia, to mention only two countries.

The laundering of drug money has also corrupted banks and businesses.
The temptation offered ill-paid police, customs officers, and other
functionaries has proved to the irresistible.

Corruption has ruined empires. The French, Russian and Mexican
revolutions resulted from outrage against corruption. Martin Luther was
outraged by corruption in the Vatican; without it, the Reformation would
probably not have occurred. Many current troubles in Russia are
reported to stem from corruption also.

In the United States during prohibition, corruption was rampant, and
bootleggers flourished. Legalizing liquor ended it and put the
bootleggers out of business.

The war on drugs has been a total failure - drugs are available even in
prisons. The root of the corruption they cause is their high price,
caused by the efforts to forbid them. The proper step is the same one
taken against alcohol - make them legal. The low prices would then put
corrupters out of business.

Teenagers use drugs because they are illegal, and using them is a rite
of passage. If drugs were legal, teenagers would not be interested.

N.W. Emmott
Sidney