DRUG ADDICTS

It is hardly responsible of the Times to mention the failure of
Mexican army troops to quell the violence in Juarez without mentioning
the cause of this anarchy: the American penchant for using illegal
drugs.

If the growing social destruction here were to miraculously reverse,
Mexico and many other politically weak nations would not be under the
pressure to accommodate the ravenous appetite for drugs of their
northern neighbor.

But who hears of calls to institute severe penalties for the users of
illegal drugs or, just as well, to tax and regulate them like alcohol?

There are legal industries here that both benefit and expand from the
drug trade, such as law enforcement and health care. If the drug
problem goes away, these groups will suffer setbacks.

Apparently, the United States is far from broke as it still can
squander tens of billions of dollars or more annually on this vice
while virtually doing nothing to attack the root of the problem:
American drug addicts.

Hadley Robinson
Upper Valley