THIS IS NOT THE GOOD FIGHT

Re: "Perry backs drug war troops - Military should be an option if
Mexico approves, he says, because stronger tactics needed," Friday news story.
Gov. Rick Perry wants to send American kids to Mexico to risk being
seriously injured or killed fighting drug gangs.

The reason for this fight is largely to keep these same kids from
smoking a plant that has never killed anyone in 5,000 years of
recorded use. In contrast, Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001
and put the money saved on law enforcement into education and medical
treatment.

Crime, drug use by teenagers, HIV, overdoses and heroin use all
declined.

The percentage of Portuguese who have ever used marijuana dropped to
the lowest in the European Union, 10 percent.

The American rate is about 40 percent. What is Perry
drinking?

Suzanne Wills, Drug Policy Forum of Texas, Dallas