"ILLEGAL" IS THE PROBLEM

"Missourian connected war on drugs to war on terror" (Aug. 17) stated
that there is a $322 billion drug trade in the world and that it is
linked directly to the spread of terrorism. The reason is the money,
not the drugs. The fact that the drugs are illegal raises the prices
astronomically, which makes them attractive to the terrorist
organizations as an easy way to support themselves.

Prohibition of alcohol in the United States created gangs and warfare
for the same reasons. The police and army in Mexico are about to be
overrun by drug cartels, and it is seeping into the United States at
an alarming rate.

Michael Braun and the Drug Enforcement Administration are not the
answer; they are part of the problem. Prohibition doesn't prevent
crime; it makes it more lucrative and, therefore, more inviting to
criminals and terrorists alike. Countries that have prohibited drugs
only increased the price of them, whereas countries that have
legalized or decriminalized them have little or no problems with them.

Money is the problem. If the drug trade is $322 billion, there are
billions to be made by the corporations claiming to help fight the
illegal drugs. It is a lose-lose proposition.

Legalization of drugs is a plausible answer but is overlooked because
of the vast amount of money being made by making them illegal and,
thus, more lucrative.

Ric Haberstroh
Ferguson