editorial comment (Almost) always like Mr. Crouch :)

The recent reduction of the harsh mandatory sentencing once common to New York drug laws makes an interesting combination when thought of with the concept of legalized, taxable gambling. I say that because the real solution to the drug problem this country now faces has little to do with how much time some lightweight drug pusher or user is sentenced to spend behind bars. It is not about finding better ways to get the big guys and put them where they belong. That's all a waste of time.

What we need to do is legalize all the drugs and face the consequences. That's right. With drug dealers put out of business, I am sure those consequences are much less dangerous -- and much less expensive -- to our society. Legalization could not even approach what is going on right now in the illegal dope world -- torture, murder, beatings and sexual exploitation.

Drug money is very nearly the petroleum of the most violent criminal world. It is the fuel that keeps the destructive engine running. Drug violence dramatically influences the nature of public health. The violence perpetuated by drug gangs fighting over turf is one of the bloody burdens the lower class must bear. The health costs of treating people with gunshot wounds, whether actual members of the trade or innocent bystanders, must amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in the past 30 years. All those bandages, all those operations, all that rehabilitation, all those crutches, prescriptions, painkillers and wheelchairs. None of it is free.

So while some states, including New York, are considering legal gambling as a way to raise their tax revenues and provide better services for their citizens, I believe they should start thinking about the same thing in the area of currently illegal drugs. The taxes from drugs alone would greatly deepen the resources necessary to fight the educational shortages in this nation, for one. Not to mention the overflow of tax revenue that would provide sufficient funds for prevention and rehabilitation programs.

The impact on crime would be enormous, because young men seeking the fast track to wealth through illegal drug trafficking would have to calm down.

Eddie Orr, an artist who graduated from high school in 1963, is one of a growing number of adult activists in Los Angeles who are concerned about the violence. He says: "The root of all of this killing and terrorizing is the drug trade. You don't have to be a genius to figure that one out. These kids are driving Bentleys and making $3,000 or $4,000 a day, so telling them that they should go straight and look to make $7 an hour is a big joke. They deal in death and disability, and the older people who have done honest work all their lives can't even go out of their houses after dark. This is nothing but a reign of terror. No one sits on their porches anymore. They might accidentally get shot in a drive-by. It's that bad."

If we were bold enough, we would save thousands of kids. Who knows? They might have to take school seriously. At least they wouldn't be found gunned down on a street corner or in an alley or some dilapidated apartment. Legalizing drugs would end that. It is obvious that, even in times of emergency such as this one, all things truly good in our economic system need to provide profit in order to get the serious attention of either the public or the world of business. The big drug companies would be quite happy once they were able to take over the kinds of drugs that have made billions of dollars for dope lords.

The other advantage is that the big drug companies such as Lilly and Pfizer would be the only ones able to sustain a fight against the enormous lobby that illegal drug profiteers would underwrite to keep their product in the shadow world.

We have to face the fact that recreational drugs have made their appearance and are part of the colossal market of modern entertainment. They are going nowhere, and it is time for our nation to look at things as they are. When we do, we can take some giant steps that must be taken.

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