MILTON FRIEDMAN DIED

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who advocated an unfettered free market and had the ear of three U.S. presidents, died Thursday at age 94.

...MILTON FRIEDMAN DEAD AT AGE 94...
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milton friedman also was much in favour of an unfettered free market in so called "illegal drugs" .
he felt quite strongly that criminalizing drug use was counter-productive - to put it mildly .
i remember seeing him being interviewed on this subject some years ago and i have to give him credit for putting up good arguments . he certainly was not afraid to speak out about it .

here is part of an interview he gave :
Paige: Let us deal first with the issue of legalization of drugs. How do you see America changing for the better under that system?

Friedman: I see America with half the number of prisons, half the number of prisoners, ten thousand fewer homicides a year, inner cities in which there's a chance for these poor people to live without being afraid for their lives, citizens who might be respectable who are now addicts not being subject to becoming criminals in order to get their drug, being able to get drugs for which they're sure of the quality. You know, the same thing happened under prohibition of alcohol as is happening now.

Under prohibition of alcohol, deaths from alcohol poisoning, from poisoning by things that were mixed in with the bootleg alcohol, went up sharply. Similarly, under drug prohibition, deaths from overdose, from adulterations, from adulterated substances have gone up.

...MILTON FRIEDMAN AND "ILLEGAL DRUGS"...

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hbg, this news item is interesting to me because I recall Jocelyn Elders, surgeon general, advocating the same thing about illegal drugs:

In 1993 after Clinton was elected president, he appointed her(Jocelyn) United States Surgeon General, making her the first African American, and the second woman, to hold the position (Antonia Novello was the first). As surgeon general, Elders quickly established a reputation for controversy. Like many of the surgeons general before her, she was an outspoken advocate of a variety of health-related causes, some of which were quite unconventional. She argued for an exploration of the possibility of drug legalization, and she was a strong backer of President Clinton's plan for national health care.

I have often wondered if this would be a solution to some of the problems that we face in America.

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letty :
yes , i had forgaotten about her .
another surgeon-general (can't remember his name any more ) was also quite outspoken , i seem to recall : about a woman's right to abortion , if i recall correctly .
found him : c everett koop

now , the name of the surgeon-general is hardly heard anymore !

in canada , we don't really have an equivalent to that .

however , i was pleased to hear that canada's chief-justice of the supreme court , madame justice beverly mcnaughton gave a speech , deploring the fact that facilities for mentally sick citizens are completely inadequate .
some years ago , canadian governments decided to "phase out" (close) most hospitals for the mentally sick and disabled .
the idea was to set up community facilities , but sufficient money for such facilities was not made available .
now , many of the former patients wind up on the streets ; they can't cope , get into trouble and wind up in jail .
really a disgrace for canada .
i think we do need people of "status" to rattle the governments and try to make them see the truth .
hbg

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Well, hamburger, there are waring factions at play everywhere. Many people have a lot to lose when "things" become legalized that are at odds with their own self interests.

Thanks for reminding me of Koop as I had forgotten all about him.

As to Canada's closing hospitals for the mentally ill and disabled, I realize the funding situation is a problem there. Health situation is no better here either, buddy.

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MILTON FRIEDMAN DIED

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