SANE POLICIES, NOT BLIND HATE, A BETTER SOLUTION TO DRUG PROBLEMS

I find it strange that Wev Shea ("Drugs attack society's moral fiber," May
16) would proclaim drug traffickers and dealers are modern-day "Hitlers,"
and in the same paragraph mention that the same people are "one step up
from child molesters."

Saying anyone is "one step up from child molesters" is blind hate. Didn't
Hitler destroy people he hated? A hate that blinded him to reality. He
dragged his entire country into a self-destructive spiral because of this
blind hate.

I share Wev's concerns over the families of substance abusers. But I am
unwilling to meet their grief with an iron fist and blind hate.

Department of Justice statistics show that 67 percent of people serving
time in federal prisons are parents. Only violent offenders (43 percent)
have a higher prison population than drug offenders (23 percent). Effects
of parental incarceration can be dramatic. According to a 1998 issue of
Child Welfare, children of incarcerated parents can suffer fear, anxiety,
anger, sadness, loneliness and guilt. They can become disruptive in the
classroom.

Many of these children may enter the foster care system as noted in a 1982
issue of Pediatrics. This system may only compound the child's problems.
Improving families through sane drug policies is a better solution than
destroying them via blind hate.

Charles Rollins Jr.

North Pole