UNCROWDING JAILS

Re: "Denver sorely needs a new jail," March 13 editorial.

I dispute your assertion that Denver needs a new jail. If we would
stop locking people up for indulging in their natural human tendencies
to buy, sell and use various substances that induce altered
perception, I'd bet the jail would be only half full.

Please try to think outside the box and imagine what it would be like
if drug use were legal and people were imprisoned only if their
actions infringed on someone else's personal or property rights. I
predict addicts would still be addicts, casual users would still be
casual users, and abstainers would still abstain. The only difference
would be that the entire system of symbiotic relationships among
users, dealers, growers, police departments, the Drug Enforcement
Agency and corrupt foreign governments would cease to exist.

If someone wants to be a loser, let him. If he makes a loser choice to
steal my car stereo, punish him. But don't punish him for wanting to
feel the pleasure of getting high.

Let people get high, but hold them accountable for their actions, and
stop "preemptive" imprisonment.

Tom Irwin,

Denver