DARE TO RETHINK DRUG WAR

Julie Mason's Aug 27 Page One article, "Study questions DARE program,"
highlighted exactly what is wrong with our current approach to the
drug problem. While it is patently obvious that the war on drugs is a
complete and expensive failure, our elected officials continue to
promote empty but "politically safe" programs over more effective
strategies.

The truth is that DARE (while popular with politicians, police and some
parents) fails to produce results. Studies of other cities have shown
this; we now have proof that this is true even in
our town.

We have had 30 years of law enforcement, advertising, and
interdiction with absolutely no effect on drug use.

We currently spend $17 billion for the war on drugs alone. What we are
getting are
glamorous advertising campaigns, insane efforts here and abroad to
defoliate farmland and forest, naive hopes that the Taliban will
cooperate with us and harebrained proposals to put our nation's
borders under the control of yet another layer of bureaucracy.

We see "exceptions" to our constitutional rights with forfeiture of property
without a trial and armed home invasions by the police, such as the
recent one here in Houston.

Our antidrug hysteria has created a problem much worse than the original
and contributed to the erosion of respect for law enforcement.

Yet self-supporting or less costly programs such as needle exchange or the
decriminalization of marijuana -- advocated by every federal and impartial
investigation -- are overridden for the sake of appearances. Since these
programs don't promise an elusive zero tolerance, the work of serious
investigations is set aside for the opinions of politicians.

We rely, instead, on propaganda programs of half-truths, when what we need
is a complete
rethinking of tactics.

Our own mayor, Lee Brown, as a former drug czar, should know the war on
drugs is a waste of money, yet he clings to these bankrupt ideas. We need
to courageously face these problems directly, instead of worrying about
some implied message being sent.

The "message" we are sending now is totally insane. I applaud the
Houston City councilmen Ray Driscoll and Carroll Robinson for their
reasoned attempts to use our tax dollars more wisely. Let's dare to
investigate to the unthinkable.

Mark Trentalange, Houston.
Ashley H Clements
1416 Brookvalley lane Atlanta, GA 30324
cheechwz@mindspring.com (404) 636-6426

www.november.org www.mapinc.org

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady