DRUG WAR CONTINUES

Re: "A recession in the drug market," Tuesday Business.

Despite the claims of John P. Walters, director of the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy, government surveys show that
use of marijuana and other drugs is far higher than it was 15 years
ago. And the Justice Department's 2008 Drug Threat Assessment predicts
that increased marijuana cultivation - particularly of high-potency
marijuana grown indoors - will lead to a drop in prices. Given that
marijuana arrests recently hit an all-time record of 830,000 in 2006,
this is astonishing.

As for methamphetamine - something Mr. Walters has largely ignored in
favor of his obsession with marijuana - the assessment finds mixed
results, with Mexican distribution networks expanding in the U.S. Only
Mr. Walters, who never met a fact he couldn't distort or ignore, would
call this a success.

Bruce Mirken,

director of communications, Marijuana Policy Project,

San Francisco, Calif.