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To: Sidney Reilly who wrote (17893)	6/22/1998 9:24:00 AM
From: Henry Volquardsen	Respond to of 39621

Bob, Legalizing drugs would eventually destroy our society which any thinking person has to realize. Criminalizing drug use has certainly not prevented its spread. A belief in decriminalizing drugs is not an endorsement of drug use any more than the repeal of prohibition was an endorsement of alcoholism. What have we gotten out of the war on drugs? Drug use is major problem. Addicts are criminalized and can't seek treatment without risking the loss of jobs or welfare benefits. The government is spending billions of taxpayer dollars to no effect. Our legal system has been distorted by the drug war. The prisons are crammed with drug offenders to the extent that thieves and violent felons are released to make room. We now have the RICO laws which opportunistic swine like the current mayor of New York have used to trash the Bill of Rights. All this is a legacy of the war on drugs with no progress towards actually dealing with the situation. The failure of the drug war is no different than the failure of prohibition. The sooner we stop this pointless exercise and start dealing with drug abuse as we do with alcohol abuse the sooner we can start repairing our damaged society. As to abortion, I am oppossed to abortion and I am a Libertarian. Unfortunately abortion like drug use will not go away simply because we criminalize it. I also find it amusing how many people who oppose abortion as the taking of a human life are also proponents of capital punishment. Both are killing. I oppose both equally. As far as wether the Libertarian Party will ever be a viable alternative to the major parties, I doubt it. But that is not the point. The point of libertarianism is to influence the debate and gradually move the country back towards a greater appreciation of liberty and individual responsibility. Henry

To: Sidney Reilly who wrote (17893)	6/22/1998 12:37:00 PM
From: Father Terrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 39621

Bob: "Legalizing drugs would eventually destroy our society which any thinking person has to realize." Drugs (marijuana, cocaine, heroin) were legal in the USA until early this century. That's when the movement began to legislate morality (which is not the job of the federal or state governments). Thus drugs and alcohol were made illegal. Alcohol was later decriminalized. Now the federal government wants to eventually make tobacco illegal and I predict, if allowed to, will attach criminal penalties to its processing or use. During the century and a half that drugs were legal in this country the United States became one of the greatest nations on earth, as well as in history. I would look more at almost fascist types of government organizations such as the DEA as being a greater danger to our society and our freedoms than drugs. FT