Eight years ago, when I decided to put a stop to the illicit drug business,
I feared for my safety. Taking the profit out of the drug trade by handing
out free drugs was clearly the answer. As a hopeful candidate for Cook
County state's attorney, I outlined my plan to have the U.S. government by
drugs (for peanuts) from drug-producing countries.

As time passed and my ideas for a dramatic change in drug policy proved to
be entirely unpalatable to the powers that be, I came to realize why my
arsenic recipe for drug dealers never endangered my personal safety. The
dealers already knew what I was still learning - that in America drug
tolerance in any form is intolerable.

I still shake my head in amazement when I recall law-enforcement officers'
burning confiscated drug contraband while government officials would
knowingly, intentionally and willfully maneuver to keep drug prices high.
Perhaps the campaign to put a stop to this nonsense lacks a snappy slogan
that would help the idea catch on.

How about "Take a snort out of crime - end the war on drugs"?

James Gierach
Oak Lawn, Illinois