GOV. JOHNSON'S STANCE ON NARCOTICS SENSIBLE

I heartily applaud the brave and sensible stance that Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico
has taken on the decriminalization of drugs ("NM governor candid about past
drug use - Republican Johnson says war on narcotics has failed," Aug. 21).

It has long been obvious that the so-called "War on Drugs" has failed as
miserably as Prohibition did earlier this century.

A better approach to the problem would be to allow people who use drugs to
buy them from doctors at federal clinics. The proceeds from these clinics
would then be funneled directly into treatment programs, so essentially the
addicts would be paying for their own treatment.

The upshot of this is that the drug dealers on the street would be put out
of business, and crime rates would plummet. A huge side benefit would be
that the American taxpayers would no longer have to foot the bill for the
hundreds of thousands of people needlessly jailed each year for doing
nothing worse than harming themselves.

Brian Kershen, Addison, Texas