REGARDING "DRUG WAR NEGLECTED"

Editor:

Maybe just what our drug war needs ("DRUG WAR NEGLECTED" by Don Feder
Mar. 8, 2001) is some benign neglect. If you compare the
recreational drug usage rates of European countries vs. the United
States you will see that the European rates are substantially less
than ours. Especially in the Netherlands where marijuana is legal
for adults but the marijuana usage rates are less than half ours for
all age groups.

Before marijuana was prohibited via the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937,
the vast majority of Americans never heard of marijuana. Today the
United States government estimates 77 million Americans have used it.

Obviously, our war on (some) drugs has been counter-productive.

Kirk Muse