DRUG POLICY: SEEING THROUGH THE CLOUD OF SMOKE

Mary Anastasia O'Grady is right on target; reducing the supply of
drugs below demand is impossible ("Innocents Die in the Drug War,"
Americas, Dec. 15). So the question is, who will control the drug
supply, us or them? We can have regulated drugs and no cartels or
unregulated drugs with cartels. And, if a person wants a drug, is the
outcome likely to be better if he gets the drug from a doctor or a
drug dealer?

Drugs have been "easy to get" for teens since at least 1975, and, with
the exception of marijuana, the vast majority refused to use them.
Legal or illegal isn't the question. More than 70% of teens who broke
the law to use marijuana refused to use cocaine and 90% of cocaine
users have never tried heroin. It's time to examine the most
thoughtful way to end prohibition again.

Jerry Epstein

Houston