Monday, July 7, 2008

It's no fish ye're buying, it's men's lives.

So said Sir Walter Scott on the dangers of fishing.

I first read the Time article "Undertaker for the mules" when it was published in 1997. A copy of it has gone with me from torn-out page in a file to document on my Classic Mac to document and link on my iMac and now to my blog. I think Sir Walter could relate.
Posted by Elise at 7/07/2008 06:16:00 PM Categories:

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I believe this man was profiled on 60 Minutes not too long ago.

I'm not sure we agree on the lesson of this article, E but for me it is another illustration of the idiocy of our current drug policy. There is so much money in selling cocaine and heroin that no matter how many fields we wipe out, how many drug lords we kill there will always be someone to step in and plant more fields and become the next drug lord and there will always be the desperate souls of whom advantage will be taken.

I do not support the use of either cocaine or heroin. I have personal knowledge of people who have had their lives ruined by cocaine. Fortunately I have never encountered heroin in any way. I am told by a man who should know that heroin is almost a one time and you're hooked drug. We should decriminalize both drugs and use the money currently being spent on interdiction for rehabilitation, counseling and other support for addicts. When there is no huge profit to be made, there will be less traffic. I don't know of any intelligent person with a non-addictive personality who would take cocaine or any other drug just because it was suddenly decriminalized. We would also save enormous amounts of money now spent on incarcerating non-violent drug offenders.

I have always thought - without any evidence whatsoever - that if I were a drug dealer I would also be a large contributor to the campaigns of those who are most adamently against decriminalization.

July 8, 2008 at 9:27 PM

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