It is strange that anyone would honor a person whose major claim to
fame is Reefer Madness-style propaganda so ridiculous that no one,
especially kids, takes it seriously ("CEO of the Drug War," editorial
page, Aug. 9).

The stories used to demonize drugs by those like Mr. Burke lack
foundation because no one was robbing, whoring and murdering over
drugs when addicts could buy all of the heroin, cocaine, morphine,
opium or anything else they wanted cheaply and legally at the corner
pharmacy. When drugs were legal addicts held regular employment,
raised decent families and were indistinguishable from their
tea-totaling neighbors. Overdoses were virtually unknown.

In the age of drug prohibition, where drug crime was unheard of we now
have prisons overflowing with drug users. Where addicts lived normal
lives, we have hundreds of thousands of shattered families. Where
overdoses were extremely rare we have tens of thousands of drug deaths
every year due to less pure and more potent concoctions being sold on
the street.

These are the consequences of an insane campaign of lies that causes
far more trouble than illicit drugs by themselves ever could. No one
should be winning awards for ads based on unscientific notions, like
the infamous "This is your brain on drugs" spot that showed the brain
scan of a coma patient and claimed it was a marijuana smoker. And let
us not forget the "fried egg" ad comparing an egg sizzling in a
skillet to the effects of drugs on the brain -- a bit of pure
hyperbole that has become a source of disdainful amusement among teenagers.

Needless to say, the absurd fictions about drugs pawned off on young
people do have an effect -- before long kids don't believe a word the
drug warriors say about drugs. Maybe that's why teenagers are the
fastest growing group of heroin addicts these days.

Redford Givens,
San Francisco, Calif.