DECRIMINALIZING DRUGS WOULD BE DESTRUCTIVE

Perhaps I am getting too old and too stupid to write The Pilot, but when you
print letter after letter from distant cities and towns that are in support
of relaxing the laws on illegal drugs, I am compelled to speak out.

Prior to retirement in 1995, I spent 25 years as the director of an agency
that treated people addicted to alcohol and drugs.

There is simply no way to adequately describe just how bad the addiction
process really is. It destroys families, results in criminal activities and
strips the afflicted person of his humanity.

Addicted persons act out against those who would arrest them, those who
would nurse them and their families. They fight, bite, scratch, and they
often addict their unborn children.

No behavior is beyond them and many would be dead if it wasn't for the law
enforcement officers who are called to subdue them.

How anyone can suggest that these people would be helped by decriminalizing
drugs is, in my opinion, insane. Those who want drugs legalized need to
spend one day in the local drug treatment facility or ride with a sheriff
who is transporting an addict for evaluation.

John M. White

Pinehurst