SAY NO TO DRUG WAR

To the editor:

As a subscriber to The Denver Post, I would like to thank you for not
letting the Mena killing slip from the minds and hearts of your
readers. Over the past few weeks, I have read many articles and
columns dealing with the various problems which lead to the innocent
Mr. Mena's violent demise. I do not recall, however, seeing anyone
address the root cause of his death - drug prohibition and our War On
Drugs.

Were it not for this war, Mr. Mena would be alive today, as would many
other citizens and law enforcement officers who have died in the name
of this hopeless cause.

Like the unworkable prohibition of alcohol, drug prohibition attempts
to use the force of law to change human nature. The police are caught
in the middle.

Drug profits allow dealers to arm themselves to the hilt to protect
their lucrative territories from other dealers. Now come the police,
charged with bursting into the nests of these heavily armed criminals
and arresting them. Who can blame them if they shoot quickly under
these circumstances?

Let's "just say no" to drug dealers by ending drug prohibition and its
attendant war now!

LEROY CASTERLINE
Fort Collins