END THE DRUG WAR

The involvement of the U.S. Marines in domestic, drug-war patrols along the
Mexican border cost an 18-year-old goat herder his life 18 months ago. In a
recent editorial, a Chicago newspaper criticized a report issued by the
House Subcommittee on Immigration concerning the matter for failure to
propose legislative or policy changes to ensure that such a tragedy does
not repeat itself.

Regrettably, the editorial suffers from the same fault as the report;
neither calls for any particular change.

The change really needed is equally hard for editorialists and politicians
to say, so I'd like to help. The change that is needed is an end to the
Vietnam-like drug war with its boundless capacity for harm of every sort
imaginable. The drug war - fueled by fear, intolerance, misunderstanding,
political demagoguery and "good-guy" anti-drug revenue sharing - kills,
maims, corrupts, imprisons, drugs, addicts, tempts, tests, violates and
destroys.

Like its name implies - drug war is war, and war is hell. End it.

James E. Gierach

Oak Lawn

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski