U.S. MUST ACCEPT REALITY: THE DRUG WAR HAS FAILED

Regarding "Plain talk about drug war" (editorial, March 27): Kudos to
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for speaking honestly about
American demand for drugs, which is the fundamental cause of our
horrific drug problems. You dismiss legalizing drugs as something that
"won't fly in present-day Washington." I doubt that programs for
education and rehabilitation will fly with our current crop of
diehard, authoritarian congressional Republicans, either.

It's time - it's long past time, to recognize that most of what we've
done since 1972, when Nixon proclaimed the War on Drugs, has been a
colossal waste of time and money, as drug-related crime has only
increased. Legalization of drugs won't make the problem go away, but
it will permit us to focus our resources where they will do more good.
The drug war industry has so far been the prime beneficiary of these
resources, at the expense of users, addicts, their families, taxpayers
and our relations with Mexico. It's time to shift our priorities; we
can't afford our current misbegotten policies.

Elizabeth Blumenstock

Oakland