LEGALIZE DRUGS FOR SAKE OF OUR KIDS

Thanks for publishing James E. Gierach's outstanding guest column,
"Shocking tolerance of drug-war casualties" (June 9). I'd like to add
that when pure pharmaceutical-grade Bayer heroin was legally sold in
pharmacies and grocery stores, deaths from drugs like heroin were very
rare.

That's because the drugs were of known quality, known purity and known
potency -- just the opposite of today's bootleg, black-market drugs.

And today's illegal black-market drugs are untaxed, unregulated and
controlled by criminal gangs -- just like alcohol was when it was illegal.

Please, for the sake of our children, re-legalize all drugs so they
can be regulated, controlled and taxed by our government -- not
criminal gangs.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.