The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

War on Drugs a forgotten injustice

Today, I was reading the story of a faceless person. She or he did not even reveal his or her gender. This human being is a marginalized citizen with no right to vote.

She or he had been dealing in cocaine back in 1987. Large quantities were involved. It was during the reign of President Reagan, who spread his vision of harmful drugs with an iron hand.

This human being was 23 years old. No violent act was involved. But the administration needed an example. The sentence: 45 years. In the year 2007 this human being will still have five years left to go.

Meanwhile, we cook our hamburgers, vacation in forest preserves, and work from nine to five. We drive our cars, rear our children, go to our churches, reap our harvests, and vote for president. As this election approaches, the silent and forgotten continue to rot in prison. The issue of legitimate and illegitimate drugs is pockmarked with fallacies and contradictions. Where are the politicians who will seek to shed light on needed reforms?

The United States has more people behind bars than any other nation on Earth. Is this a fact that we should be proud of? Perhaps, in the coming years, by voting wisely we can alter the current landscape on yet another war: the War on Drugs.

Gabor Hardy
Carbondale

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