Dear Members of the Press & Public: I would like to thank the Seminole Chronicle and Seminole Voice for mentioning my 2010 run for the Florida State House of Representatives (District 33) in reference to Jeff Hartzler's 2009 run for the Oviedo City Council. You may view the contents of those newspaper articles by going to the following hyperlinks: 1) 8/5/09 Seminole Chronicle Article - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/3554 2) 8/7/09 Seminole Voice Article - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/3555 3) 8/26/09 Seminole Chronicle Article - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/3557 4) 8/28/09 Seminole Voice Article - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SemCountyLibs/message/3559 In those articles it was mentioned that I support Drug Legalization. This is true, I support Drug Legalization or Decriminalization but only amongst consenting adults. Minors should not have access to currently illegal drugs. As stated in the http://www.lp.org/issues/crime-and-violence hyperlink:
Drug prohibition does more to make Americans unsafe than any other factor. Just as alcohol prohibition gave us Al Capone and the mafia, drug prohibition has given us the Crips, the Bloods and drive-by shootings. Consider the historical evidence: America's murder rate rose nearly 70% during alcohol prohibition, but returned to its previous levels after prohibition ended. Now, since the War on Drugs began, America's murder rates have doubled. The cause/effect relationship is clear. Prohibition is putting innocent lives at risk. What's more, drug prohibition also inflates the cost of drugs, leading users to steal to support their high priced habits. It is estimated that drug addicts commit 25% of all auto thefts, 40% of robberies and assaults, and 50% of burglaries and larcenies. Prohibition puts your property at risk. Finally, nearly one half of all police resources are devoted to stopping drug trafficking, instead of preventing violent crime. The bottom line? By ending drug prohibition Libertarians would double the resources available for crime prevention, and significantly reduce the number of violent criminals at work in your neighborhood. The War on Drugs has proven to be a failure as per studies done by the CATO Institute, a well-respected Libertarian think tank. You may view such studies by going to the http://www.cato.org hyperlink and doing a search on the "War on Drugs" failure. Also, according to a report by the CATO Institute, a well-respected Libertarian think tank, Drug Decriminalization has proved to be a success in Portugal since it was enacted in July 1, 2001. You may read details of the CATO Report entitled Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies by going to the http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10080 hyperlink. I make no apologies for my position on Drug Legalization or Decriminlaization amongst consenting adults. Sincerely, Franklin Perez (Libertarian) Florida State House Candidate (District 33) - Year 2010 Libertarian and Independent! Not Beholden to Party Politics! http://www.fperez1776.com http://www.twitter.com/fperez1776 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
