WAR ON DRUGS CAUSES MORE HARM THAN HELP

Regarding Jon Greiner's Aug. 16 commentary, "Voters warned about
Initiative B's ulterior motive: legalizing drugs," it is important to
note that most drug war-mongering politicians and civilians fall into
two categories:

First, those who actually believe the propaganda, lies and ignorant
myths peddled by the prohibitionists who refuse to consider any
reform-oriented alternatives to the current massive failure and fraud
of the drug war.

Second, those prohibitionists who rely on the continued prosecution
of, but never a victory in, the drug war in order to sustain the
industries' jobs and constituents' votes that keep them in business
and in power.

Maybe the politicians are required to adhere to the party line of
prohibition because law enforcement, Customs, the prison-industrial
complex, the drug-testing industry, the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the politicians
themselves, et al., can't live without the budget justification, not
to mention the invisible profits, bribery, corruption and forfeiture
benefits that prohibition affords them.

The drug war also promotes, justifies and perpetuates racist
enforcement policies, and is diminishing many freedoms and liberties
that are supposed to be inalienable according to the Constitution and
Bill of Rights.

Myron Von Hollingsworth
Fort Worth, Texas