LEGALIZATION WOULD END MUMPOWER'S CRUSADE

Carl Mumpower makes a slew of broad, unsupported assertions in his
guest commentary, "Asheville's drug culture has a crippling effect on
city and region," (AC-T, Feb. 2). The one thing he gets correct is
this, "It is true that we will never completely eradicate hard drugs,
but we can drive this harm underground ..." Humans have sought drugs
for as long as we've known plants are edible. As even Mumpower admits
that any war on drugs is doomed from the start, perhaps there is a
better way. Why doesn't Mumpower direct his efforts toward legalizing
drugs? That way, rather than driving the drug trade into ever greater
lawlessness, we can discourage people from using drugs through
treatment and alternatives.

Drug sales could be taxed, like those of nicotine and alcohol, to
replace the revenue lost from ending the war on drugs. Drugs could be
sold, like liquor, in centralized stores away from the communities
currently ravaged by the war on drugs. Drug prices could be lowered so
that there will be less incentive to commit crimes to support habits.

It seems to me that legalizing drugs addresses every one of Mumpower's
concerns in a much more effective and constructive manner than
stepping up any aspect of the doomed-to-fail war on drugs.

Mark Williams

Asheville