Re: [Vision2020] Alcohol kills 6½ times more youth than all other illicit dr...

[Tbertruss at aol.com]

Debbie et. al.

Debbie, its time for you to offer an apology!

This subject of alcohol abuse among youth, etc., seems to make you 
uncomfortable for some reason because you made false implications regarding what I have 
written on this subject that are very unfair and untrue.

How do all those youth and their victims killed by drunk driving get their 
alcohol?  Often by someone supplying or selling (sometimes for profit) the 
alcohol to them, a crime with legal penalties, if they are under age.

You completely dodge the central issue of my post regarding the extent of the 
damage done by alcohol abuse among youth compared to other drugs, and 
comparing the legal penalties for those who supply alcohol to minors with the 
penalties for supplying other illegal drugs.  I could quote sources, but we both know 
that in Latah County, and across much if not all of the USA, the penalties 
for supplying alcohol to minors pale in comparison to the penalties for 
supplying numerous other illegal drugs.

Does this suggest an irrational imbalance in the approach of law enforcement 
and the legal system on this issue given that alcohol abuse among youth is 
related to killing more youth than all other drugs combined?  This is the main 
point of my post, which I believe I made clear.

This point was in no way an argument to justify any kind of substance abuse.  
It is very unfair and insulting to the argument I was presenting to suggest 
this.  

Debbie wrote:

"I don't see how the statistics that say 'alcohol kills 6.5 times 
more youth than all other illicit drugs' provides much support 
for legalizing marijuana for non-medical use (if that is what 
your previous post was getting at)." 

"Yes, our culture is bipolar in its thoughts and actions about drugs and 
alcohol and alcohol use in youth but using one symptom of 
substance abuse to support another doesn't fly with me."

This attempt to switch the focus onto issues that were not argued for or even 
mentioned in my post, such as legalizing cannabis for general use, or 
supporting any kind of substance abuse, does not do justice to the grave issue of 
alcohol abuse among youth which is, yes, I will repeat again, quite conclusively 
the main cause of drug related deaths among youth!

You have blatantly and recklessly distorted my meaning in my post and made 
implications that were very unfair to my intentions.

Think about all the youth and others killed or injured due to alcohol related 
causes in the Moscow/Pullman and Lewiston/Clarkston area, and now please 
honestly and directly answer these questions:

Do the legal penalties for supplying alcohol to minors match the severity of 
the problems caused by alcohol abuse among youth?  And, would you support more 
severe legal penalties and more aggressive law enforcement efforts directed 
towards those who supply alcohol to minors?

I answer no to the first question and yes to the second.

And you?

Ted Moffett
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