THE WRONG STRATEGY

I want to add my voice to those who are calling for the decriminalization of
illegal drugs (see Don Erler's Sept. 9 column).

I know that people's lives have been ruined by drugs and that making them
legal may encourage others to take them who would not do so if they remain
illegal. However, illegal drugs are costing everyone a huge sum. Billions of
dollars are spent to purchase them (grossly inflated because of their
illegality), and billions are spent to stop them.

Prisons are full of offenders whose only offense is their weakness.
Neighborhoods are blighted by drug trafficking; small businesses are ruined
by addicts who steal and rob them; families are torn apart by addicts who
cannot get the help they need to stop.

Is it worth it? Who is being served by it? Prohibition does not work. It is
time that we tried something else.

The Rev. D. Timothy Thompson St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church Fort Worth