LABEL DRUG WAR A COMPLETE FAILURE

The articles concerning the tragedy of a child's death in an accident
related to his parents' illegal crystal methampetamine lab brought back
memories for me --- of a peaceful America, a completely different,
nondysfunctional America that existed before our drug war began in the late
'60s.

Before the drug crackdown, the saddest thing about drug use was the slow
suicide of some addicts, not the violence associated with the production
and self-policing of an illegal industry.

JAMES SHIRLEY, Athens