Pros and Cons of Decriminalizing Drugs the in U.S.

What I found most interesting in the drug discussion was not what was said, but rather what wasn’t said by any of the “experts.” Not one pointed to the real reason why drugs have become a major plague in American society--the powerless and alienation that millions of Americans feel toward their institutions.

Before the 1970s, most of the drug users in black communities were musicians and a small group of street-corner junkies. Among whites, drug abuse was largely confined to Skid Row dropouts and a handful of wealthy entertainers. But Vietnam and Watergate changed that. Lawbreaking and the arrogance of power by business and government officials bred a deep cynicism in American society.

To escape the feeling of a growing sense of discontent, millions of Americans turned to drugs as an attractive means of escape and fulfillment.

The drug crisis is a product of the profound social, economic and spiritual void in present-day America. More police, prisons, tougher laws, or even legalization will not solve the problem.

The only real solution to the drug crisis is for Americans to have power and control over their lives and institutions. Anything less only dances around the issue. And that’s what your “experts” did.

EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON

Inglewood