PROHIBITING DRUGS LIMITS OUR FREEDOM

I applaud Steve Chapman's call for decriminalizing drug use ("The
phony threat of liberal drug laws," Opinion * Commentary, May 22).
Prohibition did not work for alcohol, and it is not working for
illegal drugs today. Decriminalizing drug use would free the police
to fight real crime and might also save thousands of young men who
die as a result of the illicit drug trade each year. More important,
America was founded on the principle of individual rights - and adult
citizens have the right to ingest whatever they choose.

Manfred Smith

Columbia