PRO-SMOKE

Thanks for the informative piece by Kevin Taylor, "Dreaming in Green"
(4/7/05). It shows clearly that the war on drugs will never be won; it must
stop.

Evidence shows marijuana to be perhaps as "harmful" as coffee. It is not
like other drugs. It's time to legalize medical and personal use and stop
wasting time trying to stamp it out.

As the Spokane DEA chief pointed out in your article, America's original
experiment with Prohibition brought us organized crime -- which has stuck
around ever since. Thanks, federal government, for nothing.

The war on drugs should have ended 30 years ago. Now we have more than 2
million Americans in our prisons, and for what? Your article touches on the
heart of the matter: the "growth industry" that the war on drugs has become
for our government. There are millions and millions of dollars in asset
forfeiture, in reverse stings, in buying and selling drugs for the
government. There are new "gadgets," new personnel and new weapons. It's no
surprise that some police are fighting to stifle those who oppose the war on
drugs.

But there are cops on the side of ending this war, too. Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition represents many of them. Many attorneys are also on the
side of true justice. Jeff Steinborn of Seattle, whose Web site,
potbust.com, offers sensible, free advice to smokers and smugglers and
potential victims of the war on drugs, is one of them. I urge your readers
to check out Steinborn's site. The National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws (NORML.org) is working for change too. Any smoker who is not
a member should join NORML today.

We the people will win this war, one way or another. Thanks for a timely,
informative article.

Thomas Brent Andrews

Franklin, Tenn.