APPLAUDS EARLIER WRITER'S PERSPECTIVE ON 'METH'

To The Oak Ridger:

I'm writing about Robert Sharpe's thoughtful letter of Feb. 3, 2005:
"'Meth' resources should be diverted to treatment."

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 drug 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.

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.