http://www.huffingtonpost.com/r-gil-kerlikowske/the-obama-administrations_1_b_816786.html
"Despite recent calls to do so, legalizing drugs is not the answer. Our opposition to legalization is not born out of a culture-war or drug-war mentality. It is born out of the recognition that our drug problem is a major public health threat, and that drug addiction is a preventable and treatable disease. Already drug use -- legal and illegal -- is the source of too many of our Nation's problems. Why would we implement policies that would make these problems worse?"
I have to say that R. Gil Kerlikowske's recent piece in The Huffington Post, an online publication that I have enjoyed in the past, makes for compelling reading. However, in relation to the aforementioned excerpt, I continue to insist on knowing why we don't then apply the same restrictions for both legal and illegal drugs. Why do we even need to make a distinction? I understand that each drug is different, but given that we already have "too many" problems, why don't we follow the 'success' we have experienced with illegal drugs and apply the same prohibitionist stance towards legal drugs?
I am happy to accept that I am being naive, but I wish someone would help me to understand precisely why this is so.
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