LOSING THE DRUG WAR

Re: "Innovators one step ahead in drug war -- Cities on the front
lines of the fight against K2, say Geralyn Kever and Tony Dale," last
Saturday Viewpoints.

Unfortunately, the prevalence of K2 is a prime example of the law of
unintended consequences. As a substitute for marijuana, a substance
less harmful than alcohol, youths seem to have easier access to these
far more dangerous alternatives, and adults feel they can skirt drug
tests at work.

The endless stream of new replacements even suggest a rumored "K3."
This is comparable to the rise of dangerous and highly addictive
methamphetamine as a substitute for cocaine use during the 1990s. The
problem is not the next new drug so much as the big picture.

American drug policy toward marijuana yields nearly one million
arrests annually; nine of 10 are for personal possession. We have
nothing to show for all this madness, as marijuana is easier to obtain
than alcohol for minors and use has only risen since the Controlled
Substances Act of 1970.

Charles Guerriero, Dallas