'WAR ON DRUGS' MAKES THINGS WORSE

The "war on drugs" continues to escalate with the recent arson death
of 10-year-old Qua-Daisha in Trenton, and the response by law
enforcement ("City police turn up the heat," May 15). Now police are
using assault rifles and body armor in this increasingly militarized
and unending war.

What's next for our streets: tanks and artillery? The war on drugs is
a failure that leads only to increasing violence and does nothing to
curb drug use or availability.

Drug use and drug addiction are public health issues that must be
dealt with through education and treatment. They are not criminal
justice issues that can be effectively dealt with by using assault
rifles and body armor.

During Prohibition, when alcoholic beverages were illegal, the same
kind of ruthless gangs and gangsters warred for control of turf and
distribution rights. Innocent people were killed, corruption
flourished and disrespect for the law was common. Prohibition was
repealed and the problems associated with the illegality of alcoholic
beverages vanished. It is time for a new approach to drugs. Otherwise,
our inner cities may be destroyed by our efforts to save them.

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Lawrence