U.S. DRUG LAWS

The tragic killings of 10 young Mexican students by members of a drug
cartel require a re-examination of U.S. drug laws ("Gunmen kill 10
students on way to scholarships; Mexican officials say youths defied
roadblock typically set up by drug traffickers," News, March 30).

No matter how many police on either side of the border are used to
combat the drug trade, there is only one final method to eliminate it:
Legalize drugs in the U.S. so it will bankrupt the lowlife who kill
whomever is in their way.

Imagine the reduction in federal and state crime budgets, a reduction
of money used to house too many people in expensive prisons.

Transform the illegal use of drugs into the medical/psychological
problem it really is in the U.S. That so many people have to escape
into drugs suggests the need to question the quality of life offered
in the U.S.

Constance Larsen, Skokie