Donating money to D.A.R.E. is counter-productive and supportive of the
war on drugs that has increased Chicago metropolitan heroin purity from
2%-pure to 90%-pure over the past 40 years since I was a Cook County
prosecutor. Drug prohibition is the single best strategy to put more
drugs, including heroin, everywhere, uncontrolled and unregulated. I
sought to bring that anti-drug war message to an anti-heroin meeting
sponsored by the Daily Herald and held in a Geneva theatre some years
ago but was told "All speaking slots are filled." Attending the meeting
away, I learned that only drug-war supporters, and drug awareness and
drug-treatment messages were heard. Now, as a speaker for Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition, I presented last year at a Rotary club luncheon in Kenosha WI and learned that their town of 100,000
people was running one heroin overdose case a day. This year kids in
SW Cook County School District 230 (Orland and Palos Townships) are
experiencing heroin overdose, but again only drug-war supporters and
drug treaters were heard at government and school-supported meetings for
parents and students. It's time for a contrary message to be heard -- a
message calling for an end to drug prohibition and for the treatment of
drugs as a medical matter needing legalization, licensing, regulation,
labeling, taxation and control. The drug cartels and street gangs, like
Al Capone with alcohol before, favor the continuation of drug
prohibition that protects their illegal drug distribution monopoly.
Responsive authorities and good people should not side with them by also
supporting drug prohibition. Drug use may be bad but drug prohibition
is worse.
