TRY NEW APPROACH

EDITOR: (In response to a story about operators of several local businesses
being charged with selling drug paraphernalia):

They took it upon themselves to seize smoking items from a few local
businesses here in Wilmington because the Department of Justice sees them as
being clearly intended for illegal drug use.

What's next, outlawing lighters? They're clearly used with the intent of
ingesting narcotics. When does the removal of our freedom end?

Now I'm not going to cry about why pot shouldn't be lumped in with
narcotics, especially when the legal drug of alcohol is 10 times more
destructive than marijuana ever could be. .

I only pray that some day, we'll wake up and elect people smart enough to
realize that the only correct step in the war on drugs is to end it by
legalization.

Treatment at the source can help, not throwing non-violent offenders in
tax-supported prisons while making no impact on the availability of drugs or
behavior of users. This would also highly reduce crimes done by addicts to
support their habits.

Don't get me wrong - I don't believe that hard drug use is good - in fact, I
believe it's the closest thing to Satan on earth.

The right, however, to choose what one wants for him or herself without
hurting someone else is one of the main reasons this country is great. If we
keep moving in the wrong direction, it won't be for much longer.

Alex Agnew

Wilmington