All the attention focused on whether George W. Bush has ever used
drugs seems like a waste of time. We would do better to concern
ourselves with what Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico has to say. He
calls the war on drugs a "miserable failure" and urges debate on
decriminalization of drugs.

We spend $50 billion a year trying to eradicate drugs. The Drug
Enforcement Administration estimates that we capture less than 10
percent of all illicit drugs. Does $50 billion a year for a failure
rate of 90 percent seem like a good investment?

Trying to prohibit anything widely desired in a free society is
impossible. We might not like it, but the fact remains that people use
drugs. And the only way to eradicate drug use in America is the
complete loss of individual rights. That's too high a price to pay.

The war on drugs has blighted lives, jammed prisons, intensified
racism, caused needless deaths and is responsible for the steady
erosion of our constitutional rights. The time is long overdue for an
honest discussion of drug policy alternatives.

Ken Krug
Butler