To The Editor:

Mark Woodward, public information officer for the Oklahoma Bureau of
Narcotics And Dangerous Drugs Control (''Your Views,'' Feb. 24) missed the
point in his letter about drugs. First, drug laws were never about public
health. That much is demonstrated by the simple fact that two legal drugs
-- alcohol and tobacco -- kill more people every year than all the people
killed by all the illegal drugs in the last century.

The largest studies ever conducted by the governments of the U.S., the
U.K., Canada and Australia tell us that our drug policy is a mistake and
should be abandoned.

Woodward's information on Europe is in error. As one
example, Switzerland is reporting great success with heroin maintenance
clinics, and the Swiss people recently voted to continue the heroin
clinics.

Finally, Prohibition did not materially reduce alcohol problems
but simply created a bigger problem with use by children and women and a
tremendous increase in violent crime.

Following repeal, there was an
immediate large drop in the homicide rate.

Clifford A. Schaffer
Canyon Country, Calif.