GOVERNMENT SHOULD GIVE UP FAILING FIGHT

In the April 26 editorial "Drugs: Tackle demand side," the Journal Sentinel
said: "It is a war that is being fought with the wrong weapons and on the
wrong battlefield.

No, it is the wrong war. Why should our government be fighting a "war"
against people who want to use the drugs that the government arbitrarily
has declared off-limits? Misuse of legal drugs, especially alcohol and
tobacco, cause many more problems than the illegal ones do.

Furthermore, before drug prohibition, our society didn't have the problems
with crime, corruption, prisons, innocent civilians gunned down - even in
Wisconsin - and abuse of constitutional rights, all with a
multibillion-dollar bill for the taxpayers.

Despite the fact that the concept behind prohibition is suspect at best and
rotten at worst, we are forced to continue with no end in sight after
decades of this mess. Just need to make a few more adjustments, we are told.

Like our war on poverty, and whatever other wars the government tells us we
must fight, the outcome is always the same. Failures abound, and instead of
cutting our losses and moving on, we commit even more resources and
experience even more failure. Victory is just around the corner, with just
a few more dead bodies.

Jim Maas
Stevens Point