LOSING THE DRUG WAR

In light of the recent incident when the SWAT team accidently shot and
killed an 11-year-old boy during an alleged drug bust, this country should
wake up and realize that the so-called "war on drugs" was lost even before
it started because of the profit, the need and the use.

We need to take the profit out of illegal drugs. The hundreds of millions
of dollars that is spent on law enforcement has failed miserably. The
United States should legalize all drugs and place them in controlled
clinics. We should save millions of dollars and lives, plus drastically
reduce our prison population.

I worked for more than 30 years for state and county mental health
agencies, which entailed a great deal of hands-on experience concerning
illicit drug usage. We certainly have short memories. What folly was
alcohol prohibition, and now illegal drugs are reaping the same results.

ALLAN BOWLIN

Modesto, Sept. 29