A HOME RUN

It is rare that I agree with Leonard Pitts Jr., but he hit a home run
with "Let's admit War on Drugs a failure" (Page B11, Tuesday). The War
on Drugs was lost as soon as it was declared because it was a strict
prohibition of drugs and a refusal to admit that some people would do
anything to get them. It is time to admit that some people and their
lives are going to be a disaster no matter which way the drug problem
is handled. Over the years of prohibition many innocent people have
suffered the scourge of the drug scene. Policemen have been killed.
Crime victims have lost property and their lives to fight the good war
fight. Most crime can be traced to drugs.

The drug problem could be eliminated easily. The federal government
could buy drugs cheaply and distribute them to all hospitals to be
administered to anyone on demand with no questions asked. This would
destroy the drug cartels instantly, along with most crime in the
nation. We would need fewer policemen, courts, jails and prisons. This
will never happen in the real world because there are too many people
who will not admit that there are some who cannot be saved by
prohibition.

This would work only if there was no charge because politicians would
like to use it to raise revenue. Remember, it was a politician who
declared the War on Drugs. Politicians know that in order to increase
their power they only need to declare war on something.

Charles McPhate, Houston