IT'S TIME FOR A TRUCE IN THE WAR ON DRUGS

"" Re: "Global war on drugs has failed" (Gazette, June 3).

The war on certain drugs has not failed.

Far from it. This war was never meant to be won. It was meant to be
continuous.

It was designed to reduce the civil rights and liberties of the
general population, fill them with dread and fear and anger, accustom
them to an ongoing and evergrowing police and military presence in
people's daily lives, drain taxpayers' dollars, and keep lawyers rich,
police officers busy, armies fed and jails full.

In that regard, The War On Certain Drugs has been the biggest success
in world history.

It is an amazing, magical beast that actually grows larger by eating
its own waste.

That is why Prime Minister Stephen Harper plans to build 12 new
federal prisons, rather than build things that actually reduce drug
use - like schools, hospitals, treatment centres and children's sports
and social programs.

Russell Barth

Nepean, Ont.