TIME TO RETHINK THE DRUGS FIGHT

Last Thursday's newspaper had a story about an event in Yuba City
("Heroin sales help with bail?" May 29) that was terrible in too many ways.

Unfortunately, thinking that the YC arrests are "an end to the heroin
problem" is as naive as thinking that the guy getting a roadside
ticket represents "the end of speeding."

Back in 1982, President Reagan officially declared the War on Drugs,
with the promise of a drug-free America by 1995. I wonder how the war
on drugs can ever be won while there's so much money to be made.

The time is past due to rethink the strategy. Some say that drug
abuse is a medical issue, better treated like alcoholism. I agree.

I encourage anyone to read the Consumers Union Report on Licit and
Illicit Drugs, written in 1972, and available online. I also
encourage anyone to read their Bible, particularly Matthew 7:12.

John Anderson

Dobbins