END THE DRUG WAR

There is a growing realization among Americans that the drug war is a
failure. In nine states, marijuana law reforms have passed
overwhelmingly through initiative and referendum. Curbs on police
authority to seize the assets of alleged drug criminals have also been
demanded.

New York Gov. George Pataki has called for reforming the arcane
Rockefeller drug laws with their mandatory sentences. New Mexico Gov.
Gary Johnson is pressing for legalization of marijuana there. In May,
the Supreme Court, while ruling that federal drug laws do not make an
exception for marijuana for medical purposes, did not block states
from allowing such use.

If drugs were legalized, police could devote more of their resources
to fighting real crimes instead of victimless ones. Furthermore, civil
rights violations would decline.

Drug abuse could be treated for what it is: a medical problem, not a
criminal justice one. Money would be better spent on treatment than on
jailing abusers.

Alex Pugliese, Kenilworth