DRUG WAR IS JUST LAW ENFORCEMENT

To the editor:

Mr. Jose Melendez made the point that since alcohol and nicotine are legal
yet dangerous, cocaine, marijuana, and heroin should also be legal ("Drug
war works -- for criminals," May 8).

Mr. Melendez theorized that this double standard is part of a conspiracy to
help certain industries profit. However, comparing cigarettes to heroin or
beer to cocaine is like comparing a firecracker to a hand grenade. Both are
dangerous, but one is a tad more destructive.

Mr. Celerino Castillo ("Past 35 years show drug war will never be won," May
1) stated that education and treatment were the solution to the problem
(Mr. Castillo also made unsubstantiated allegations of massive and
widespread corruption). While education and treatment are important, a
couple of things seem to have eluded Mr. Castillo.

First, they are already part of the U.S. drug policy. Second, they have
their limitations.

When a gang of drug dealers takes over a neighborhood, I don't think the
answer is to have honest citizens approach the thugs and say, "Excuse me,
but could you go get treatment and stop terrorizing us?"

I don't have any brilliant solutions, but I think it is wise to keep things
in perspective. For example, I often hear people criticize the government
for spending hundreds of millions of tax dollars incarcerating drug
traffickers. How about placing the blame on the convicts who felt that the
law didn't apply to them?

Also, in my opinion, police officers and federal agents aren't really
fighting a war on drugs. That's just a catchy and somewhat unfortunate term
politicians developed. What they are really doing is enforcing the law.
That has its limitations, but it needs to be done.

Ed Townsend

McAllen