THE CULTURAL CRISIS IN BLACK AMERICA

To the Editor:

Bob Herbert tells the heart-wrenching story of a woman whose family
was killed as payback for testimony against a Baltimore drug dealer in
2002. He advocates a cultural shift in a swath of urban, black
America, saying "it is up to blacks themselves" to "create a cultural
environment that turns its back on crime."

Unfortunately, it will be difficult for such change to occur until we
rethink our disastrously failed drug war. Under the current policy of
prohibition, there is an enormous economic incentive for people to
turn to dealing drugs.

Just as happened during the era of alcohol prohibition, dealers arm
themselves and form powerful gangs that infest every corner of our
society. Without prohibition, those dealers would be out of business.

Sam Ehrlichman

Ithaca, N.Y.