BIG BUSINESS

I applaud your comments on America's pathetic war on drugs.

I have watched an entire generation serve insurmountable prison sentences
for nonviolent crimes while rapists and sexual offenders get probation and
minimum sentences.

Why don't we just admit what this really is: a big business. While there is
no money in prevention or rehabilitation, there

is a lot of money to be made in building and maintaining prisons, and in
paying judges' salaries for the ever-growing dockets of drug offenders. And
let us not forget how being tough on drugs can make or break a political
career.

It is no coincidence that the majority of inmates are black and Hispanic.
The war on drugs provides another avenue to exacerbate the great divide
between the social classes. Why are we so selective on the war on drugs
when alcohol and tobacco are equally, if not more, responsible for our
biggest social problems?

Norma Miranda
Detroit