I support the elimination of the War on Drugs and changing it from a
law enforcement to a medical problem ["The unwinnable war," Opinion,
July 8]. When a public policy clearly does not work,as this has not,
it is important to be able to admit it and try something else.
Considering the billions of dollars that have been spent without
stemming the flow of illegal drugs, let's try another approach to
observe the results. If, after five or ten years, there is no
improvement then change and try something else.Let us not lose sight
of the debacle that Prohibition was.

One major hurdle to overcome is the untold numbers of law enforcement
jobs that have been created that are directly and indirectly related
to the "war" at federal, state and local levels in enforcement and
correctional jobs, as well as in the legal areas of government.

There is also the problem of asset seizure, which results in untold
benefits to only law enforcement agencies. No wonder law enforcement
groups everywhere are against any change in the law; a lot of
expensive equipment, as well as jobs, are dependent on these funds.

Rex Reynolds
Huntington Beach