A couple of points were brought up in recent postings that I would like to address. Etta, Kelly, Tilly and Andy from the Pittsburgh area have related personal anecdotes with drug users within their family in their advocacy for maintaining the illegality of drugs. I would submit that their experiences strongly argue for my point, namely that the drug laws have done nothing to stem the tide of drug use.

Tom correctly surmises that my position on drug legalization extends to legalization of prostitution. I would add that current laws against prostitution have fostered the spread of disease and made a prostitute's life a lot more risky than it would be with legalization. Also, I think Tom is mistaken when he writes that my view is "straight out of Brave New World." In the novel *Brave New World*, although drugs are readily available, the government is omnipotent and what I am arguing for is that exact opposite--the devolution of power to the people. I share Tom's concern regarding the risk of the federal and state governments' filing lawsuits to recoup medical costs (mimicking the atrocious actions they took against the tobacco companies) if drugs were legalized, but I think the short-term risk is relatively small because there are no existing conglomerates for the government to target and loot.