DON'T BLAME DRUGS FOR SOCIETY'S ILLS

Thanks for printing Milwaukee County Circuit Judge John J. DiMotto's
comments made during the sentencing of Steven N. Davis ("Slaying shows 'how
drugs destroy life,' judge says," Feb. 2). They clearly demonstrate the
pervasive intellectual bankruptcy of personifying drugs as a scapegoat for
the problems that face our society.

He was quoted as saying, "This case is really an example of the scourge that
drugs have become on our society. Your case is a good example of how drugs
destroy life."

I hope that people reading his comments will take a moment to put them in
perspective. Would any reasonable person today blame alcohol for the
rampaging violence and corruption that accompanied Prohibition?

It became clear to a majority of people that the "war on alcohol" was the
prime cause of the violence that accompanied prohibition, just as I am
hoping that DiMotto's comments will help make it clear that the "war on
drugs" is the prime cause of the violence and corruption that so often
accompanies the drug trade.

As a society, we must recognize that we are doomed to a never-ending cycle
of violence, corruption and incarceration as long as we continue down the
drug prohibition path.

Paul Mozina
Milwaukee