PUT THE BRAKES ON NATION'S DRUG WAR

WE couldn't have asked for a better example of why the drug war isn't
working than the views expressed by Donnie R. Marshall, administrator of
the Drug Enforcement Administration (Opinion, April 24).

It is ironic that in a capitalistic society where the economy is driven by
supply and demand that Marshall insists that the entire problem is on the
supply side. The high prices that users pay for drugs clearly contradict
this view.

He goes on to say that only 5 percent of the drug offenders in federal
prisons and 27 percent in state prisons are in on possession charges. In a
country where almost 1 percent of the population is in jail, that is a lot
of people.

The answer lies in why our youth are desperate to use drugs. A good part of
that is connected with parents who are too busy to talk to their children,
as the film "Traffic" eloquently shows.

Alan L. Fahrenbruch
Redwood City