TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DRUG WAR

I am writing to thank you for "connecting the dots" regarding the war on
drugs in your recent editorial. I think it's really important to do
something about the drug problem, but what we're doing in the drug war is
making things worse.

The victims of the drug war are poorly served by being put in jail, and can
usually get drugs while they are in prison. We would be better served by
spending the money on treatment than incarceration.

The prohibition of drugs is at the root of most of the problems, so we
ought to address the drug problem as one of public health.

Drug abusers are the main victims of drugs. An addict impacts another
person when they rob someone to pay for a drug fix. Decriminalizing drugs
makes the price go down, and we already have laws against robbery.

Finally, nations like Afghanistan are growing most of the world's heroin
poppies, with the profits going to terrorists. Decriminalizing these drugs
takes the profit out of the hands of these terrorists.

The fact is that the billions we've spent each year to fight drugs have
actually made selling them more profitable for terrorists. Thanks for your
article.

Jeff Sanderson

Chicago