UNITED STATES' DRUG POLICY FAILS WHERE OTHERS' SUCCEED

I'm writing about retired New Jersey State Police Lieutenant Jack A. Cole's
outstanding commentary: "Facts back the futility of war on Drugs" (Feb 21).
I'd like to add that if tough-on-drugs policies worked, the quixotic goal of
a drug-free America would have been reached a long time ago.

And if tolerant marijuana laws created more drug use, the Netherlands would
have much higher drug usage rates than the United States. They do not.

In fact, the Dutch use marijuana and other recreational drugs at much lower
rates than Americans do. See the Web site:
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/thenethe.htm .

No other nation on the planet has spent more of its resources fighting drug
abuse nor imprisoned more of its citizens for drug law violations than the
United States.

Yet no other nation has been less successful than the United States in
solving its drug-abuse problems.

What we are doing regarding our drug-abuse problem is not working. It's time
to do something different - substantially different.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.