Dear Sir,

My name is William and I am an 18-year-old high school graduate and a Libertarian for about three years now. This email is not just directed to you but to other people in the legalization movement as well, because I want other people to read what I have to say.

There is, in my opinion, a very important issue that I would like to discuss with you via-email. This issue is the reasons that NORML uses to encourage the legalization of marijuana. From what I have studied and read on the internet the most commonly used reasons by NORML and other pro-marijuana legalization organizations to encourage the legalization of marijuana are its safety, medicinal uses, mildness, and industrial uses.

All of the above reasons are very valid but many organizations such as NORML and others have almost IGNORED the MOST IMPORTANT reason why marijuana and all other drugs need to be legalized. This reason is that everyone has a right to use any drug they want and live their lives however they choose as long as they do not harm anyone else or violate anyone else’s rights to life, liberty, and/or property.

This right given us by our creator (whether in your opinion it is God, Mother Nature or the Universe) is called LIBERTY and NO GOVERNMENT can take it away from us. Governments might imprison us, fine us, or even execute us but they CANNOT take our right to LIBERTY away from us.

You see everyone has the right to use any kind of drug as long as they do not violate anyone else’s right to life, liberty, and/or property and I believe that NORML needs to focus on people’s RIGHT to LIBERTY a lot more and focus a "little" less on the industrial, medicinal, and other uses of marijuana. NORML needs to STAND UP and DEMAND that peoples’ rights be RESPECTED and stop being VIOLATED.

If NORML did this then it would grow to be a much stronger force in the war against our so-called government for legalization. We can all talk about the safety and uses of marijuana seven days a week, fifty two weeks a year, but we might not get marijuana legalized doing that. What we all need to do is focus on peoples RIGHT to use marijuana and other drugs which makes all scientific studies and medical data IRRELAVENT to the argument.

You see the scientific data on Marijuana is IRRELAVENT. Even if every report ever done about marijuana said that it was VERY DANGEROUS then people would STILL have a right to use it because they have a right to control what they put into their own body and they have a right to live their lives however they want to as long as they do not violate the rights of others.

Another issue some people might argue about is whether "ALL" drugs need to be legalized or "just marijuana" because "harder" drugs could lead to more "crime" if they were legalized. Well, in my opinion ALL drugs should be legalized immediately because everyone has a right to use any drug they choose as long as they do not violate anyone else’s rights. If someone DOES use drugs and THEN violates someone’s rights to life, liberty, and/or property THEN he or she should be sent to prison for a very long time, but not just for the act of using, possessing, or selling the drug.

We already have laws against all forms of REAL CRIME with REAL VICTIMS in which peoples rights to life, liberty, and/or property are violated. You see we already have laws against theft, rape, murder, burglary, assault, arson, slander, etc. We do NOT need any "drug laws" what we need to do is legalize drugs, which would make the crime rate go DOWN, and then enforce the laws for REAL CRIME that we ALREADY HAVE.

If drugs were legalized then all drug dealers and gangs would go out of business because no one would ever by from them because they could get cheap, pure, and higher quality drugs at the local grocery store. This would mean almost all drug-related crime would END once and for all. There would be no more drive by shootings, gang wars, turf wars, dealers on the street, people stealing to support their expensive addictions, and people avoiding treatment because they are scared of getting arrested and/or their property seized.

Also, I believe that NORML and other organizations need to just be BOLD and tell the truth about our government who is imprisoning and seizing the property of tens of thousands of people each year who did not harm anyone or violate anyone’s right to life, liberty, and/or property.

Our government not much more, if any more, than a CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION! That is the TRUTH and I believe that is another thing that NORML and other legalization organizations need to STRESS and FOCUS ON. You see the government seizes the property of and imprisons tens of thousands of innocent people each year who have not harmed anyone and who did not violate anyone’s rights to life, liberty, and/or property. Because of the fact that these people did not harm anyone or violate anyone else’s rights to life, liberty, and/or property they had the RIGHT to use ANY kind of drug they want to. You see the GOVERNMENT is the CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION which is VIOLATING peoples RIGHT TO LIBERTY and FREEDOM!

Now please do not think that I am criticizing you or anyone else in the legalization movement. I would like to thank all of you for all of your hard work trying to get marijuana and all other drugs legalized. But truthfully I think everyone in the drug legalization movement needs to focus more on peoples RIGHT to use any kind of drug they choose and live their life anyway they choose to as long as they do not violate anyone else’s right to life, liberty, and/or property which is called LIBERTY rather than marijuana’s many uses and/or safety.

Please consider what I have written and email me back with any opinions you have on it. Also, please consider changing your focus from the medical uses, industrial uses, and safety of marijuana to the RIGHT everyone has to use ANY drug they choose as long as they do not violate anyone else’s rights. Unless the focus of the legalization movement changes then marijuana might never be legal and our rights and freedoms may continue to be violated.

Thank you very much for your time and for all of your hard work trying to get marijuana and other drugs legalized. Everyone on this planet owes all of you a great deal of thanks. Take care and God Bless.

Best Regards,

William ufotruth@ix.netcom.com