TOTALLY UNSUCCESSFUL `WAR'

I was very pleased to read your April 26 editorial, "Questions,"
which asked "What happened in Peru?"

Since 1994 the U.S. government has been spending billions of dollars
each year in an endeavor to curtail the productions of plants such as
those which are used to produce cocaine. We have used the facilities
of our Air Force and Navy to try to interdict the transportation of
these drugs to the United States to reduce the use of drugs. All of
this has been unsuccessful. We have more drugs coming into the
country now than ever before, an adequate supply to take care of the
demand.

We need a solution. The government ought to legalize the use of most
of these drugs. It would immediately reduce their price to a very low
value. This would tremendously inhibit the production of drugs or
plants all over South America. These farmers can then produce corn,
cotton or other products more suitable for themselves or people in
general.

But what about those who have a drug habit? We should then spend the
money that we have been spending on the "drug war" to publicize the
bad effects of drugs and provide facilities to help the addicts kick
the habit.

Nathan Janco, Tulsa