DRUG WAS FOCUSES ON WRONG CULPRITS

In his Sunday Viewpoints guest column, David P. Gonzales, U.S. marshal
for the District of Arizona, proposes that the U.S. reduce its demand
for drugs ("Arrests can't win nation's drug wars").

I disagree. The drug war failed not because demand is high but because
it did not distinguish problem users from casual users. By contrast,
the drug war seeks to stamp out all use.

It is exactly the same reason Prohibition failed.

As with alcohol, the vast majority of users are casual users, and they
were never a problem to society in the first place.

Problem users of drugs are like alcoholic abusers and should be dealt
with in exactly the same way. -

John Chase

Palm Harbor, Fla.