MOVE DRUG LAWS INTO 21ST CENTURY

Letter writer Minter is right on target ["Current drug policies fail
society," April 27]. Her views are echoed by a growing group of judges
and police who believe the best way to deal with risky drugs is to
legalize them and eliminate the criminal dealers.

With hundreds of years of combined experience on the front lines of
the 35-plus-year drug war, the members of Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition (LEAP) have learned that millions of valuable police
man-hours are wasted in a futile attempt to "control" criminal dealers
and illegal-drug flow. The only way to control in-demand drugs is to
have them in a regulated market. This is how we sensibly deal with the
risky and most commonly abused drug in America -- alcohol.

Regulating drug sales will not solve all the problems related to drug
use and abuse. But we did not end Prohibition in 1933 because alcohol
use was without risk. We did it because of the urgent need to put Al
Capone and other criminal dealers out of business and move the product
into a market that could be easily monitored by authorities. We were
then more able to help those who have problems with alcohol, while
respecting the privacy of those who use the drug responsibly.

It's time for an equally sensible change in policy for the 21st
century. It's time to legalize drugs.

STEPHEN HEATH

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Clearwater, Fla.