TRAFFICKERS, NOT USERS, ARE THE TARGET

As a retired special agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration, I
found the article by David Broder on the new DEA administrator
interesting and insightful until he stated, "A higher portion of
marijuana suspects who wound up in federal prison were simply users
than was the case with the hard drugs" [op-ed, Aug. 26].

From 1969 until I retired in 1992, I was assigned to Baltimore,
Washington (three times), Detroit (twice), Key West, Fla., Miami,
Bangkok and San Francisco. I arrested, indicted, convicted and
incarcerated approximately 1,000 individuals. None of those
individuals was arrested for "using" any drugs. The smallest quantity
of marijuana I ever arrested anyone for was approximately 1,000
pounds. The largest single seizure I was involved with was
approximately 60,000 pounds. These are not user quantities. Nor do I
know of any DEA agent who has ever arrested anyone for "using" any
drug.

Most U.S. attorneys offices consider anything under 500 pounds of
marijuana not worthy of the effort. No one is in federal prison for
"using" drugs. Are there drug traffickers in federal prison who use
drugs? Absolutely, but that is not why they are there.

- -- J. J. Mateer