WHY IT'S TIME TO END DRUG WAR

Some people don't seem to understand why crime is associated with the
drug war. (Don't give up on drug war," Aug. 26.)

It's no different than the U.S. experience with Prohibition. Before
Prohibition, there were people with drinking problems. After
Prohibition, there still were people with drinking problems, but we
added organized crime such as Al Capone, the Purple Gang and Murder Inc.

Law enforcement can't enforce all laws all the time. Ask any of the
illegal immigrants in this country who have been caught with fake IDs.

The bottom line is that if drugs weren't illegal, drug addicts could
get help without fear of going to jail and there would be no profit
for drug hustlers. We taxpayers would save billions of dollars. There
would be no profit for drug dealers, and we taxpayers would save
hundreds of billions of dollars.

The drug war is 94 years old, and yet we arrest more than 800,000
people a year just for marijuana offenses.

Don't give up? Sorry, but no matter how much you beat a dead horse,
it still isn't getting back up again. If you pick up a hot pot and it
hurts, the smart person puts on a hot mitt or puts down the pot,
instead of doing the same dumb thing again.

Edward H. Decker

Manchester