GLOBAL DRUG TRADE CAN BE STOPPED

I am in complete agreement with the recent letter "Buy and burn
foreign drug crops," regarding the problem of drugs that come from
Afghanistan. Buy them and burn them. We have never found a crop yet
that will provide a living for the farmers in Afghanistan. Just as the
people in America need jobs, so do people of other nations.

We could not only save money, but think of the lives we could save
among our military personnel. We would also have a much better
relationship with the people of the opium- and coca-growing countries.

The American war on drugs is a total loss. Prohibition was a failure.
Legalize drugs (after the flow of incoming supplies is stemmed by the
buy-and-burn method). Place a hefty tax on the purchase of these
drugs. The tax could pay for treatment of the addicted who want help.

The above method would take drugs out of the hands of the criminals
and put them in the hands of the government. Some may not think one is
much better than the other, but if the IRS found it wasn't getting its
fair share, the agency would be much more aggressive than our law
enforcement in ending the drug trade.

Esther Ricker

Bradenton