PROHIBITION IS THE PROBLEM

Regarding "Illegal drug tax increases crime" (April 13, p. 3),
prohibition drives up the prices of illegal drugs. Dealers set their
own rates, and because drugs are illegal, the price is high.

Would it be cheaper to buy a bottle of Scotch in a dry county?

Selling drugs is a highly profitable business for lawbreakers, and
prohibition supports them. Putting drug dealers out of business would
make for a safer environment. They cannot settle their disputes in
court like law-abiding citizens, so they settle them in a criminal
fashion by using violence. They also sell to children.

We're already paying the price. Not because of drugs, but because of
prohibition and our failure to support recovery for the addicted.
Instead, we support prisons and the highest incarceration rate in the
world.

It shouldn't be about tax revenues, and taxing dealers isn't the
solution. Ending prohibition and investing all that we have into
treatment and education is the solution.

SANDY COTE

TOLEDO, OHIO