WAR ON DRUGS UNSUCCESSFUL

Jim Henderson, vice president of the Alabama Narcotics Officers
Association, recently wrote a letter complaining about reduced funding
for drug task forces ("Not enough money for war on drugs," The News,
Wednesday). These are, he wrote, "the front line on the war on drugs,
in which about 26,000 Americans die each year."

While I have great respect for Henderson and his fellow officers, I
would like to offer another view. By any objective measure, the war on
drugs begun decades ago has been a great failure. The present
availability of controlled drugs has never been greater, as
interdiction from both foreign and domestic suppliers has proved to be
virtually impossible.

Many or most of the 26,000 deaths to which Henderson referred were the
result of criminal activity actually caused by the war on drugs,
rather than from the direct use of drugs. Indeed, I would challenge
Henderson to provide evidence of even one death that was a result of
the use of marijuana, the most commonly used illicit drug.

The fact is, the war on drugs has resulted in the imprisonment of
thousands of nonviolent drug users (the Alabama Department of
Corrections Web site gives the figure of about 7,000 currently
incarcerated for drug offenses). It has diverted millions of dollars
from the criminal justice system in a futile effort to interfere in
the private lives of citizens and, consequently, greatly inhibited
efforts to combat other crimes.

The war on drugs has further had a devastating effect on the black
community because of the disproportionate number of black males who
have been or are in prison for drug offenses.

William A. North

Birmingham