ACCEPT FAILURE OF DRUG WAR

In Sandra S. Bennett's Jan. 28 diatribe, "War on drugs should be
escalated," her views are seriously deficient in reality and simply
reverberate the din of those with a vested interest in perpetuating
the failed war on some drugs.

Even though the annual kill ratio of tobacco vs. marijuana is more
than 400,000 to zero, we don't arrest or jail tobacco users or
sellers. Heart disease kills more people than illegal drugs.

As for Bennett's claim that "drug use escalates when the supply is
readily available and the consequences are either weak or
nonexistent," I suggest that she compare the recreational drug use
statistics of the Netherlands, and the United States at
www.drugwarfacts.org. In the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally
available to adults, all recreational drug-usage rates are less than
half that of the United States.

As for urging our government to spend more money on its failed war on
(some) drugs, a common definition of insanity is doing the same thing
over and over and expecting a different result each time. Let's try
something new.

Kirk Muse,
Vancouver