We're losing the war on drugs - U.S. should legalize their sale and then tax them: PennLive letters

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By PennLive Editorial Board 
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on July 10, 2015 at 8:30 AM, updated July 10, 2015 at 8:34 AM

The number of people murdered in the drug war in the United States is larger than the death toll of our military in Iraq and three times greater than the death rate of our soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Mexican drug cartels kill more people than ISIS and they proliferate mainly in the United States - killing teens and adults indiscriminately.

The U.S. is on the verge of legalizing pot in many states. Why not all? In fact, why not legalize the sale of all drugs and tax them?

The U.S. is losing the war on drugs. Terrorists are using drug trafficking monies to fund their activities. Giving Afghanistan millions of dollar each year to stop growing poppy is just going toward making them cultivate and traffic more poppy, which becomes cocaine and heroin. This money is funding the Taliban, ISIL, al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, etc.  

If drugs were legal, the U.S. could license industry to sell them and then tax the profits. Some of the money could be used to rehabilitate addicts, and some could be used for internal needs. Addiction would be treated as a medical problem and not as a criminal problem. Jails would be less crowded. It is cheaper to pay for rehabilitation than it is to incarcerate someone for 10 or more years.

Alcohol and cigarettes were at one time illegal. This does not ensure that they run rampant now. Should we criminalize glue-sniffing?  

Stop the war on drugs, decriminalize them, and stop funding terrorism, all with one swift blow. 

ROCHELLE S. CLEAVER, Dillsburg