WASTEFUL DRUG WAR

Editor

President Clinton's drug war budget is way out of balance. We spend
17 billion a year on the drug war (official government figures). Sixty
percent or a little over 10 billion is spent on drug supply
interdiction. Estimates are that this rate of spending reduces the
amount of drugs on the maket by 3 to 10%. Suppose the spending went up
to the 80% congress wants. Suppose it was done today. That would mean
almost 14 billion for interdiction. Suppose this money was spent as
effectively as current money. We would then be collecting between 4%
and 14 % of all the drugs flowing into the country. Not much
improvement.

Let us stop messing around. To stop all drug flows into the country we
would have to spend between $100 billion and $300 billion a year ( the
equivalent of a new Dept of Defence). If we can't spend it as
effectively, then for $200 billion a year to $600 billion a year we
could prevent drugs from coming in to the country. This would be in
about the range of a Vietnam War. Fought in America. Continously. Forever.

Why worry about where a piddling 9 million is going when there is real
money at stake. If we are going to fight drugs taxes will have to go
up. To keep them from going up too much we will have to reinstitute a
draft.

If this is a war lets get serious. If not lets quit.

M. Simon
Rockford, Illinois

Opinions expressed herein are solely my own and may or may not reflect
my opinion at this particular time or any other.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry