DRUG WAR ISN'T WORKING

Re Guillermo I. Martinez's June 9 column, "Monterrey must be the line
in the sand in Mexico drug war": Drugs did not spawn Mexico's
organized crime networks. Just like alcohol prohibition gave rise to
Al Capone, drug prohibition created the violent drug-trafficking
organizations behind all the killings in Mexico. With alcohol
prohibition repealed in the United States, liquor bootleggers no
longer gunned each other down in drive-by shootings. Mexico's upsurge
in violence only began after an anti-drug crackdown created a power
vacuum among competing cartels.

The drug war is perpetuated by the mainstream media's refusal to put
so-called "drug-related" crime in context. Drug prohibition funds
organized crime at home and terrorism abroad, which is then used by
shameless politicians to justify increased drug war spending. It's
time to end this madness. Whether we like it or not, drugs are here to stay.

Changing human nature is not an option. Reforming harmful drug laws
is an option, one that Congress should pursue.

Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C.