AGREES WITH COLUMN - WAR ON DRUGS ABOUT MAKING MONEY

Regarding the syndicated column, "War on drugs has turned into a new way to
make a living for many across America," (AC-T, Dec. 19), by Froma Harrop:
Hurray for Harrop for having the audacity to suggest that the primary
motivation for many people to oppose legalizing the use of marijuana for
medical reasons is economic. The people who are paid to tell Americans not
to use drugs, and to arrest and prosecute those who do, stand to lose their
jobs if people discover the truth about most illegal drugs. And the truth
is that the penalties imposed by the criminal justice system, including the
impact on families and communities of those incarcerated in the "drug war"
far outweigh the damage done to individuals by using those drugs. The war
on drugs is based on the erroneous assumptions that drugs that are now
illegal are inherently "worse" for people than legal drugs and that the use
of mood-altering substances can be "effectively" controlled through law
enforcement and the criminal justice process. Because the war is based on
these misconceptions, the only reasonable course is to end the war.
Prohibition did not work with alcohol and will not work with other drugs.

Robert Wilson,

Asheville