DRUG WAR IMPINGES ON CIVIL LIBERTIES

An Aug. 26 letter to the editor, "Don't give up on drug war," urging
the continuance of the current "war on drugs" illustrates the lack of
common sense many people have on this issue.

This insane war is the greatest threat to civil liberties that we
face. The police can't wait to look into or sniff your car whenever
you are stopped for a minor traffic infraction. I always feel sorry
for the poor sap I see stopped on the side of the road going through
that wringer. Their lives can be ruined.

It infuriates me that untold billions of tax dollars go to the
salaries and benefits of drug warriors at all levels of law
enforcement. It is a waste of money.

The writer states drug law violations are "illegal behavior" and
groups that behavior with the likes of theft, rape and murder. The
latter three crimes are obviously wrong, and harm another person or
their property. Drug use is a crime only because the government says
it is.

As we should have learned from alcohol, prohibition does not work. It
only pushes the activity underground, introducing unsavory elements of
society into the equation and raising prices. Nearly all crime
associated with drug use is because drugs are illegal.

You don't see alcoholics breaking into our homes to get money to buy a
shot of whiskey. Addicts will always be with us. They harm themselves
and cause endless suffering for those who love and care about them.
What they need is treatment, not a jail cell.

Our prisons are overcrowded with nonviolent drug offenders and
dangerous criminals are walking the street -- talk about a waste of
resources. We live in a supposedly free country, yet we can be put
into jail for the rest of our lives for possessing a plant. It is
preposterous! Why do we tolerate this? This country was founded on the
principle of freedom of the individual. There should be no drug laws.
What people choose to ingest into their bodies is their own business.

HANK SMITH

Toms River