DRUG WAR AND PRISONS

Re: "Aiming for course corrections on prison priorities," Feb. 15 Diane
Carman column.

Diane Carman hits the target in this column. Cutting to the matter's
core, her summation of the "bogus war on drugs," defining "Colorado's
very own Iraq war," is eloquent. And her reference to the drug war as
"insanely self-perpetuating" is a bull's-eye.

The facts and figures on the costs of this ill-conceived policy in
Colorado are just the tip of the iceberg. Nationwide, it is a 37-year,
trillion-dollar abject failure.

Carman ends her column with a simple statement, saying, "Now all we
need is a leader."

I challenge Department of Corrections Director Ari Zavaras, who is a
former Denver police chief, and Gov. Bill Ritter, who was Denver DA,
to take the lead. Join me and more than 6,500 other current and former
criminal justice professionals at LEAP (Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition) in working to end the "war on drugs."

When substance abusers are no longer criminals who commit more crime
to pay for their addictions (less crime/incarceration) and drug
dealers are out of business for lack of profit (less
crime/incarceration), then Colorado, like New York, can close prisons.
That's a real "win-win."

Tony Ryan

Aurora

The writer is a retired Denver police officer and a member and speaker
for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.