WE ENDED VIETNAM WAR 26 YEARS AGO, WE ALSO CAN CALL OFF THE WAR ON DRUGS

The casualties and costs of the war on drugs
continue to mount, and one of its major leaders, Drug Enforcement
Administration chief Thomas Constantine, now is saying we are both
unwilllling and unable to fight.("DEA chief: Drug fight lacks desire,"
News, Friday).

We have been here before. Thirty years ago, the Vietnam conflict was
sucking us dry. There seem to be no end to the human suffering, and we
apparently were addicted to that horrible war. How did it end?
Eventually, when the leaders of the war and media realized that our
country was unwilling and unable to win the battle, we just said "no"
to the war.

Couldn't we apply the lessons so painfully learned in the Vietnam
conflict to our present situation in the drug war? The desire to use
psychoactive drugs appears very strong, and tens of millions of
Americans use illicit drugs. If you include all psychoactive drugs -
alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, performance-enhancing substances and
others - the vast majority of Americans use psychoactive drugs. We
can't defeat them because they are us.

How long must we suffer before we say enough? End the drug war
now.

Danny Terwey, Santa Cruz, California. It's no wonder DEA
Administrator Thomas Constantine is reviled by many of his
subordinates within the organization. He seems to be the only voice of
reason coming from that agency.

It's amazing that we live in a society of capitalism, yet deny the
logistics of supply and demand when it comes to national drug policy.
The best approach to dealing with substance abuse is a combination of
education and treatment. Violence begets violence, and we are sick of
this civil war.

John G. Chase, Palm Harbor Florida. So DEA chief Tom Constantine
thinks we have neither the will nor the resources to win the drug war?

He is wrong. We do have the will and the resources to fight the drug
war, but it must be fought in ways that work.

Is Constantine suggesting that if we we'd really been serious, the
drug war would have been a success? Bum rap. This failure is not a
lack of will of our citizenry; it is a lack of clear thinking by
Congress and the DEA leadership. Their most basic mistake was trying
to prohibit all "illegal" drugs rather than trying to reduce the
societal damage done by the very few individuals who abuse drugs.

But things may be changing. Barry McGaffrey, our current White House
drug czar, is beginning to talk about the importance of education and
treatment. This is good, but it does not comport with funding provided
by Congress.

If our congressional leaders would just stop their political rhetoric
against the Clinton administration and change their funding
priorities, we could move forward with a program that has a chance for
success.