HYPOCRISY OF DRUG POLICY

Rather than "certifying" Mexico as an anti-drug partner, we should list her
as a casualty of the United States' war on drugs. The degradation of social
and civil order in Sinaloa and the border states is a direct consequence of
our drug prohibition laws.

That policy creates obscene profits for the ruthless. The drug traffickers'
budget far exceeds Mexico's law enforcement budget. The more we and Mexico
"crack down" on trafficking the greater the profits.

Will we learn before it is too late?

Gerald M. Sutliff Emeryville