WAR ON DRUGS BECOMES 'WASTE OF TIME'

My hearty thanks to USA TODAY for the editorial "War on drugs gone to pot"
(Our view, Policy on illegal substances debate, Wednesday).

Americans will be disappointed to learn that the war on drugs is not what
they thought it was. Many of us grew up supporting this war, thinking it
would imprison high-level traffickers of hard drugs and keep cocaine and
heroin off the streets. Instead, law enforcement officers devote precious
hours on hundreds of thousands of arrests for possession of a little
marijuana, only to have prosecutors deem the infractions too minor to take
to court.

This tremendous waste of time and resources must stop.

Mitch Earleywine

Author, Understanding Marijuana

Associate professor, psychology

University of Southern California

Los Angeles