END DRUG WAR

In his Sept. 20 column, "Invasion of a different sort," Reggie Rivers
points to the similarities between our disastrous drug war and our war on
terrorism, and expresses hope that we will avoid the abuses of the former
in attending to the latter.

I, along with many of my fellow Americans, share this hope. But beyond
that, I also hope that we end the war on drugs completely, by regulating
all illegal drugs just as we now regulate alcohol. The time for this action
is now because fighting the war on drugs is not conducive to winning the
extremely critical war on terrorism - it is, in fact, counterproductive.

This is true for a number of reasons. It is widely known that much of the
money flowing to terrorist groups comes directly from the drug trade.
Ending the war on drugs will instantly remove a very important source of
funding from all terrorist organizations.

The war on drugs is divisive at a time when it is crucial for all Americans
to stand together. It has become a war on our friends and neighbors, a war
on our civil rights, a war on the guarantees of our Constitution, a war on
the freedoms that have made us great. The excesses of this unholy war have
led many Americans to distrust their own government, not without cause.

As a patriot, a citizen who loves his country and an ex-serviceman, I
implore our leaders to end this unjust war so we can concentrate on those
who would destroy us. Please, just say "no" to the war on drugs.

LEROY CASTERLINE
Fort Collins