THE METH SCOURGE

Your magazine asks, "Is the United States fighting the right drug war?" My
question is, "Has the United States ever fought a 'right' drug war?"

Your magazine and other publications hyped the evils of crack in the 1980s
and heroin chic in the 1990s. The result? We are stuck with horribly
oppressive laws that have led to the jailing of hundreds of thousands of
nonviolent offenders, many ruined lives and the same amount of drugs
pouring into the United States.

Like crack and heroin, the meth "epidemic" will fade on its own. In the
meantime, we don't need opportunistic pols looking to get points by
demanding we get "tough on crime" with ineffective laws that violate the
Bill of Rights. Your magazine does nothing to inspect the underlying causes
of drug abuse--poverty, lack of education, etc.--and instead focuses on
sensational pictures.

Tye Wolfe

Ithaca, N.Y.