LAWS AND WAR ON DRUGS ARE NOT WORKING EFFECTIVELY

The Nov. 19 editorial advocating the requirement that pseudoephedrine
be made available by prescription only is another knee-jerk reaction
to the nation's drug problem. The current laws limiting purchases of
the drug has caused one highly effective sinus medication (Actifed) to
be removed from the market and has made those of us who need a more
effective over-the-counter (inexpensive) decongestant stand in long
lines to wait for a pharmacy attendant to get the less-effective
single-ingredient pseudoephedrine.

The war on drugs has been a dismal failure on the part of politicians
and law enforcement. It is time to get addiction out of the hands of
police and the courts and place it where it belongs - in the hands of
competent medical caregivers.

We need stop this stupid domestic Vietnam and all the stupid stop-gap
fixes such as the one the editorial proposes.

Paul Mullin

Maunaloa, Molokai