WHAT MESSAGE ARE WE SENDING

Dear Editor:

I'm writing about Andy Stone's thoughtful column, "No Toking In These
Tropics" (June 2).

I agree that we should send a message to Bali and Indonesia by
boycotting them for their cruel and idiotic anti-marijuana laws.

But what about the country with the huge statue proclaiming liberty
for all, but with more prisoners than any other country in the history
of human civilization? That country, known to many as the Land of
Hypocrisy, had more than 750,000 arrests for marijuana violations in
2003.

Primarily because of our war on drugs policies, the United States has
been transformed into the most incarcerated nation in the history of
human civilization. Even though we in the U.S. have fewer than 5
percent of the world's population, we have more than 25 percent of the
world's prisoners.

In other words, one out of every four prisoners in the world is locked
up in an American jail or prison.

What message does this send to the rest of the world?

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.