THIS PAST TUESDAY, on this page, A. Robert Kaufman advocated distributing drugs like cocaine and heroin through government-run clinics "at nominal costs."
Under Mr. Kaufman's plan, he wrote: "It would continue to be illegal to buy and sell such drugs privately."
Why should we make the drug business into a government monopoly? Because the government has done such a fine job of running Amtrak and the postal service? I simply can't go along with the idea of allowing the government to become our only narcotics distributor.
What we need to do is license dope merchants to sell heroin, cocaine, LSD, marijuana and any other intoxicants the public wants to buy.
Imagine deserted storefronts, all over the city, being turned into neighborhood dope stores, each one advertising weekly specials brightly lit windows: for example, "100% Pure Peruvian blue-Ball Rock Cocaine, 3 for $6.99 [after rebate]."
Then we'd have more specific specials: "10% Senior Citizen discount, on Tuesdays" and, "Thursday is COLLEGE NIGHT! Show your student I.D. and get 25% off any domestic marijuana in stock!"
Government clinics would never display this level of merchandising ingenuity. I know this because I have bought liquor in Pennsylvania, where it is sold only in state-run package goods stores that have surly clerks, dirty shelves, high prices and a poor selection.
I agree with Mr. Kaufman that legal distribution of drugs would probably cut down on violence and prostitution, allow drug users to hold jobs, save money on prisons, etc.
But I insist that we let private enterprise handle the sale and distribution of narcotics instead of turning it over to a government that can't even put together a simple arms-for-drugs-for-hostages swap without a major scandal.
Private enterprise has proved that it can deliver narcotics efficiently and smoothly despite the best efforts of the federal government. All we need to do is legalize, regulate and tax a business that already exists.
Of course, we should establish some minimum standards for retail dope merchants and their employees. Everyone who works in a dope store, for example, should pass tests in chemistry, biology and physiology, and take a course in first aid. It would not be unreasonable to require a certain level of proficiency in mathematics as well, especially if local dope stores did their own product weighing and packaging.
And anyone who wants to get a dope merchant's license should be forced to demonstrate that he is morally fit for the job: references from local leaders and a clean criminal record should be required.
But dope merchants should be allowed to make money. Big money. A respected, established, legal dope dealer should be able to buy a Mercedes for weekdays and a 4X4 for weekends.
Right now, for many poor inner-city youngsters, selling drugs looks like the best and most lucrative business going. If we turn the drug business over to a bunch of government drones, what hope will these kids have?
Of course, under my licensing plan, kids will be forced to study math and science before they can deal drugs. They'll have to stay out of trouble, too.
Apparently, Mr. Kaufman didn't stop to think how important an economic force the drug business has become in many city neighborhoods, or how to deal with the economic havoc that would be caused if it was controlled solely by government. Perhaps Mr. Kaufman forgot about the harm done to thousands of small Baltimore entrepreneurs when the state took over the "Numbers" racket. But we don't expect big-government guys such as Mr. Kaufman, a long-time political activist, to think about small businesses. All we expect them to think about is getting their own points made into law.
At the end of his essay on drug legalization, after a little horn-blowing for his City-Wide Coalition, Mr. Kaufman wrote, "Six years ago Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke said that the present system of dealing with the drug problem wasn't working and he called for a dialogue on alternatives. We are that dialogue."
Mr. Kaufman, I want to be a part of that dialogue, too.
8, Robin Miller is a Baltimore taxi driver.