DRUGS ARE THE ENEMY

Regarding the recent State Journal series on prisons and the statement
that 70 percent of inmates have alcohol and other drug abuse issues, I
felt we had shoved the problem under the carpet.

In 1984, I went to Russia with a group from a high school. Our guide
took us on his own time to a coffeehouse, where we were able to talk
to some young, educated Russians. A young man said both of our
countries were going to be defeated from within by drugs -- theirs
coming in from Afghanistan and Turkey, ours from South America,
primarily Colombia.

It seems easier to clean someone else's country than our own.

Ursula Silver

Madison