A US WAR

The real reason Labour rejects the Police Foundation report is hinted
at in your leader (March 29). The "US-style war on drugs" is just
that: a policy originating in the US, that its strategic allies are
all but required to imitate. For many countries, notably those in
Latin America, key US financial aid is directly indexed to the extent
to which their domestic anti-drug policies meet the United States'
self-serving "certification" programme.

Mike Evans Bristol
mike@corbus.net

Ethan Nadelmann counsels the government not to turn to the US for a
solution to drug abuse (Addicted to failure, Society, March 29). His
advice could apply to other social problems where Britain has ignored
examples of good practice on our doorstep in Europe, in favour of
slavishly following the lead of the US. How many times do you hear
"according to research carried out in the US"? What about all the
research output of European universities? Do we still think they have
nothing to teach us?

James Carpenter
West Molesey, Surrey
paddy.carpenter@virgin.net