TIME FOR CEASE-FIRE IN FAILED DRUG WAR

Every bit of data about the drug war indicates that it is a colossal
failure ("Data show war on drugs failing as cocaine gets cheaper,
purer," May 5).

From 1995 to 2005, the federal drug war budget rose 79
percent.

During that time, the number of people in the United States who had
used drugs in the past year rose 55 percent, drug-induced mortality
went up 116 percent, drug arrests went up 25 percent and drug rehab
admissions went up 22 percent.

It's time to stop persecuting people over their choice of intoxicant,
legalize all these drugs and sell them through a regulated market.

We have absolutely no chance of ever achieving a "drug-free" America
for one simple reason: "Just say no" didn't even work in the Garden of
Eden.

All that Prohibition II has done is make the drug problem in this
country far worse than it otherwise would have been, which is just
what happened in the case of alcohol prohibition.

It is a sign of intelligence to learn from experience, and a sign of
insanity to repeat the same activity over and over and expect a
different result.

So on the drug war, are we stupid or crazy?