HOW CAN WE SOLVE THE COCAINE PROBLEM?

To the Editor:

(Editors Note: The following
letters are in
response to a Letter to the
Editor in the Thursday,
June 12 issue of The News
Review entitled: World
would be better without
cocaine...)

The world would be better without cockroaches, too. That doesn't mean
it is a good idea to burn down the house to get rid of them.

There was a time when most of the current drug problems simply didn't
exist. There were addicts - about the same percentage as today - but
the addicts didn't commit crimes to support their habits. There were
no drug gangs. There was no drugrelated violence, except for that
related to alcohol.

Then, in the space of a single year, the problems began. Those
problems have been with us ever since and they have been getting
progressively worse. The root of these problems can be tied to a
single cause.

Anyone who is really interested in solving the problems can find an
excellent history of the subject in the Consumers Union Report on
Licit and Illicit Drugs at:
www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm

CLIFFORD A. SCHAFFER

Director

Schaffer Library of Drug Policy

Agua Dulce, CA.