LEGALIZING DRUGS COULD CUT GANG VIOLENCE

A 16yearold girl was wounded in Northeast Portland as "the result of a
drug sales dispute between two rival gangs" ("Random shots fired from
passing car wound teenage girl," Nov. 13). Local residents "told police
other shootings had occurred in the area recently because of a conflict
between the two gangs."

Drug dealers scattered after a Sept. 5 police raid on a nearby gasoline
station where illegal drugs were being sold. Your article stated that this
shooting was "the result of drug dealers returning to the area," according
to Gang Enforcement Team Officer Peter Simpson.

There's a public health approach to drug abuse call Harm Reduction,
sometimes referred to as "medicalization." I think it would work better.
It certainly deserves a fair chance. Witness the obvious failure of
current drug policies.

It's time for Oregon to once again lead the way. It's time to end this
senseless violence related to illegal drug distribution. We must eliminate
blackmarket profits by regulating adult use in a manner that respect
freedom of choice, while demanding personal accountability which is what
the American Antiprohibition League's Drugs Control Amendment would do.

Floyd Ferris Landrath
Director
American Antiprohibition League
Southeast Portland