The Nation : Drug Penalties Endorsed

Drug dealers deserve the death penalty, but their customers should be helped, not punished, President Reagan said in an interview with Newsweek magazine. Reagan also blamed rock musicians and the film industry for glorifying drug use and said he had suggested that Cabinet officers submit to voluntary drug testing. Asked if the United States should institute capital punishment for drug dealers, as Malaysia has, Reagan said: “While we haven’t come to final decisions on this . . . I know they deserve it.”