LTE #4
DRUG INTERDICTION IS WORTHLESS: ENDING THE DRUG WAR COULD DEFUSE A DANGEROUS SITUATION

Jeffrey Goldberg's article ``The color of suspicion'' in last Sunday's
Commentary section was the best firsthand account I've read about the
dangerous work of drug interdiction on our highways. Racial profiling?
Just read the drug-runner's quote, ``We ain't gonna trust our drugs
with white boys.'' One almost feels rage at the hypocrisy of
politicians on this subject. But it's not their fault; they are just a
mirror of us. We want action against both drugs and profiling because
we see ourselves as virtuous.

What is especially maddening is that drug interdiction is worthless
in its effect on abuse and addiction. All interdiction does is boost
the price, which in turn has the perverse dual effect of driving off
casual users and making abusers more desperate to obtain cash. Few of
us know this because we want to believe interdiction works. The TV
evening news and our politicians are happy to oblige. But don't blame
this on them. The enemy is us.

The only way to extract ourselves from this mess is open dialogue.
Printing ``The color of suspicion'' was a good start. Please, please
keep it going.

JOHN G. CHASE
Palm Harbor