ILLEGAL DRUGS

After some "shouting" following Thomas Ravenel's op-ed article last
month, the talk about illegal drugs seems to have subsided. I think
this is unfortunate because the issue isn't going away, and I think
it is clear to almost any observer that the current policy, costing
us hundreds of millions, no billions, of dollars each year isn't
working. In addition to the damage it is causing here, it is damaging
our relationships with many countries, but most importantly, it isn't working.

We have the highest incarceration rate in the developed world, and a
large portion of those in prison have been convicted of possession of
illegal drugs, and/or for crimes committed to obtain money to
purchase them. At the same time, profits for distributing these
substances are so high that gangs fight one another over distribution
channels and sales territories.

Much of this fighting goes on in Mexico, Colombia and other Latin
American countries, and those countries rightly blame us for
providing the market that feeds the strife. In addition, our efforts
to eradicate the opium crop in Afghanistan make it hard to develop
friendly relationships with farmers, whose only source of income is
growing opium poppies -- and opium is the only export of significance
for the entire country.

Despite our "war on drugs" we have one of the highest rates of drug
usage in the world, much higher than in countries that have
implemented legal distribution systems for those who want or need
these drugs for one reason or another. It almost seems that the
thrill associated with using a banned substance is one of the reasons
that people get hooked.

After much agonizing, I, too, have come to the conclusion that we
would be better off making these drugs legal, taxing them the way we
tax alcohol and tobacco, and earning money for needed government
functions rather than wasting it on legions of law enforcement people
and the expensive incarceration of large numbers of our young
population. If we want to reduce government spending, here is a major
opportunity.

As Mr. Ravenel pointed out, our current policy is failing by any
measure. Let's encourage open conversation about ways to change it
for everybody's benefit.

Fritz Saenger Jr.

Cove Bay Lane

Mount Pleasant