With his tough, drug-war rhetoric, Tony Cantu sounds as if he must
be planning to run for political office ("Going soft on
narco-traffickers will hurt our children," Outlook, Mar. 1).

Certification of other countries as allies in the war on drugs is
a bad idea. Third World countries are unable to cope with the
power and corrupting influence of drug money.

Decertification is counterproductive. It is supposed to lead these
countries to just say "no" to the influence of bribes and threats
against their leaders and to do more to stop the
multibillion-dollar trade in illegal drugs -- something they have
been unable to accomplish ever before.

Decertification actually harms the relations with other countries
and decreases opportunities for legitimate business, pushing new
people to work in the drug trade.

Blaming other countries for illegal drug use in the United States
is an attempt to escape from reality. No other country would send
any drugs to the United States if the market in this country
didn't send tons of dollars to corrupt their citizens.

No one wants their children to use legal or illegal drugs. But to
claim that $30 billion worth of cocaine is poisoning U.S.
children each year is an attempt to produce an emotional gut
reaction rather than an intelligent decision.

Few children buy cocaine. Children are not a factor in what
drives the illegal drug business. Millions of adult users and the
billions of dollars spent on plentiful, but prohibited substances,
are.

Gregg Davis
Houston