So, drug use among teens is up again. Sad - isn't it? - the war on
drugs is still failing.

Imagine for a moment what America would be like if all that money and
effort were instead applied to a war on crime. Instead of punishing
drug use, we could punish murder, rape, child abuse - even crimes such
as vandalism and petty theft. Can you imagine reporting the loss of
your car's tape deck, and the police having the time to investigate it
and arrest the thief? We could live in a virtually crime-free
environment.

But, no - we'll continue spending billions of dollars hoping to
prevent people from doing something stupid to themselves.

W.H. Payne, Wichita Falls, via e-mail