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Drug Legalization: Now or Never?
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18012 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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5 / 1990 |
7,532 Words |
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Forum
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Drug and alcohol abuse is costing America nearly $150 billion a year in theft, job absenteeism, accidents, and deaths. In response, the federal government has launched a multibillion-dollar war against illegal drugs. There are signs that the counteroffensive is working: Public awareness of the seriousness of the illegal drug problem is on the rise, and there has been a significant recent drop in the number of students using drugs.
At the same time, a growing number of people are suggesting a radical new approach: legalization of the sale of such substances as heroin, cocaine, and marijuana as a way to reduce crime and eliminate profits in the international drug trade.
To discuss the pros and cons of drug legalization as well as the root causes of the drug epidemic in America, The World & I invited four distinguished experts to participate in a special forum: Edwin Meese, former U.S. attorney general; Reggie Walton, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; David Boaz, senior fellow at the Cato Institute; and Eric E. Sterling, president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. Lee Edwards, senior editor of The World & I, served as forum moderator.
THE WORLD & I: William J. Bennett has called drug legalization "morally scandalous" and a "recipe for public policy disaster." Do you agree or disagree?
Reggie Walton: I agree. To a large extent, the problems associated with drugs relate to a deterioration of our values and morals as a people. I am sure that back in the 1930s or 1940s if you had dropped a ton of cocaine in Manhattan, people
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