PROHIBITING DRUGS JUST CREATES CRIMINALS

This is in response to the editorial "Biggest fights in drug wars lie
ahead." Maybe that should have been titled "Biggest lies in drug wars fight
ahead."

Karen Tandy, administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration,
told a gathering of law enforcement officers at a conference in Gatlinburg
that aggressive pursuit in the fight against illegal drugs is paying off.
The efforts have led to a reduction in drug use as well as the overall
availability of drugs.

That might be nice if it were true. Unfortunately, the federal government
hasn't gotten any better at telling the truth since the "Reefer Madness" of
Harry J. Anslinger in the '30s and '40s.

Prohibition didn't work at the beginning of the 20th century. Almost 100
years later, we still haven't learned that it simply creates criminals
where there were none before.

Prohibition created Al Capone. It also created Pablo Escobar. We've wasted
billions of dollars and countless lives. When are we going to learn?

Timothy W. Rennels

Knoxville