DRUG WAR: A DESTRUCTIVE, IMMORAL DOMESTIC POLICY

Your assertion that the cost of drug legalization would be "far
higher addiction rates as cocaine and heroin became routinely
available and their price fell dramatically" ignores what has
occurred since the early 1970s when the drug war began. The
percentage of Americans who have used an illegal drug has gone from
less than 5% to about 40%. The cost of one dose of street heroin has
gone from $6 to 80 cents while purity has gone from about 1.5% to
nearly 40%. The only drug that has decreased in use during the drug
war is tobacco. The percentage of tobacco users has decreased from
about 65% during World War II to about 20% today. Tobacco has never
been illegal. Americans quit using it for personal reasons. They
decide whether to use other drugs for the same reasons.

The drug war continues unabated for political and economic reasons.
It has never reduced drug use or addiction.

Suzanne Wills

Drug Policy Forum of Texas

Dallas