WHAT WILL STOP THE DRUG WARS

Thanks for publishing an account of the economic impact of domestic
marijuana production on Mexican cartels' profits ["Cartels Face an
Economic Battle," front page, Oct. 7].

It's disingenuous for Ralph Reyes, the Drug Enforcement
Administration's chief of operations for Mexico and Central America,
to blame casual marijuana smokers in the United States for the
violence in Mexico. Given the opportunity, marijuana smokers would
gladly buy American pot. As The Post's story pointed out, that's
increasingly what they are doing.

Obviously, our approach to marijuana control doesn't work. The
responsibility for violence in Mexico that stems from drug prohibition
lies with our lawmakers, who have utterly failed to embrace a more
sensible marijuana policy.

If we regulated and taxed marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol,
maybe the next headline on this subject would read "Legal U.S.
Marijuana Growers Cripple Mexican Cartels; Violence
Diminishes."

Tyler Smith

Campaign Director

Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Washington