THE DOPE ON THE DEA

Regarding Bill Steigerwald's column about the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration's 35th birthday ("35 years of drug war failure," July
13 and PghTrib.com), the primary hiring criterion for DEA agents is
ignorance. The emphasis on "drug-free" backgrounds ensures that those
least knowledgeable about the use and effects of illegal drugs are
charged with enforcing laws against them.

There is a good reason millions of Americans prefer marijuana to
martinis.

Anyone who has experimented with both drugs knows that alcohol is far
more dangerous. Alcohol drinkers who overindulge risk painful
hangovers, loss of control over bodily functions, even death.

Compared to legal drugs like alcohol and prescription narcotics,
marijuana is relatively harmless. It is not possible to consume enough
marijuana to die from an overdose. Not even aspirin can make the same
claim. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but criminal records are
inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents.
The drug war is a cultural inquisition, not a public health campaign.

Robert Sharpe

Washington, D.C.

The writer is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy.