End profit motive

Joyce Callaway (May 4) says it’s time to think about legalizing drugs. I say it’s long past time.

It’s easy to imagine someone going into business or politics with at least the partial aim of making a positive contribution to humanity or to one’s country. It’s nearly impossible for me to imagine someone getting involved with large-scale sales of cocaine, meth or other such drugs for any altruistic reason.

It’s equally difficult for me to imagine how we can stop the violence and killing associated with the drug trade without removing the profit motive. I can’t think of any way to remove the profit motive other than legalizing the sale and use of now-illicit drugs.

Perhaps there are readers who can show me the errors in my thinking, or perhaps there are readers who can explain to me the social benefits of the slaughter associated with the drug trade, and of clogging our legal and penal systems with addicts and penny-ante drug dealers.

However, until someone does convince me that the evils associated with drug trafficking can be removed without legalizing drugs I’ll continue to support legalization.

Edward A. Reynolds

Spokane