LET'S WIN THE WAR ON DRUGS

Legalizing drug use won't make it less dangerous and costly for society

Observer community columnist Bill Reeside Jr. wrote ("Call off the war
on drugs," May 26) that deadly narcotics such as cocaine and heroin
should be legalized for adult use so people can "comfort themselves"
and that use of illegal drugs harms no one but the user.

He asserted that the government has spent billions of dollars to do
nothing more than spy on its citizens and arrest "common folk who buy
dime bags to share with their friends."

He called the drug war a waste of police resources that could be
better spent investigating crimes such as rape, murder and property
crimes. He even proposed that the government set an age for the legal
purchase of drugs and sell them to earn tax dollars.

What Mr. Reeside doesn't understand is that the problem with drugs is
not that they are illegal -- it is that people use them.

Drugs are illegal because they are dangerous, not just for the user,
but for all of society. The crimes he hopes local police could focus
on are largely due to drug use. Legalization would only increase the
crime rate.

Some of those "common folk" he mentions manufacture methamphetamine
(meth) in their homes with their children present. Once discovered by
law enforcement, these children have to be decontaminated of deadly
chemicals. This year alone, 73 North Carolina children have been found
in homes with meth labs. Addicts make meth at home because it's
cheaper than buying it from a drug dealer -- or from the government,
if it was legalized. Another problem is pollution: For every pound of
meth produced, five pounds of chemical waste are dumped into the
environment. How is only the user affected?

Drug abuse drives some of America's mostly costly social problems,
including domestic violence, child abuse, mental illness, homelessness
and the spread of AIDS. Legalization wouldn't cure these social ills,
it would make them worse.

Crime, violence and drug use go hand in hand -- not because drugs are
illegal, but because their use affects behavior. A 1991 Justice
Department study found that six times as many homicides are committed
by people under the influence of drugs as by those looking for money
to buy drugs. The propensity for violence by drug users against law
enforcement officers, coworkers, family members and people on the
street is a matter of record. According to a 1998 National Household
Survey on Drug Abuse, teenage drug users are five times more likely to
attack someone than those who don't use drugs.

Legalizing drugs would have a disastrous effect on this nation. Today,
with only an estimated 7 percent of the population involved in illegal
drug use, the estimated societal impact of drug abuse is $180 billion
per year. If drugs were made legal, some experts expect the number of
drug abusers would double, exponentially increasing the social and
welfare costs of drug abuse. Legalization in Alaska, Holland and
Switzerland had disastrous results -- principally, dramatic increases
in crime and drug abuse.

Mr. Reeside advocates the use of drug courts. So does the U.S.
government, but law enforcement plays a key role in the drug court
system because an arrest is often what triggers the treatment. When
treatment is mandated, the success rate is much higher than voluntary
programs.

The government uses a balanced approach of prevention, enforcement and
treatment in the fight against drugs. One won't work without the
other. Do we want more people using drugs? I don't think so. Do we
want our children to think drug use is OK because the government
allows it or even sells drugs? No. Our nation has never given up on
fights against similar horrors such as tyranny, terrorism and poverty.
How can we give up on this one? We can't, and we won't.