DRUG ISSUE

Dear Editor,

Thank you for publishing the excellent letter arguing that decriminalizing
of drugs is an overlooked but obvious step of getting a handle on street
Oakland's street violence.

The Tribune's editorial history on the drug issue is light years ahead of
most other newspapers. Still I often wish you would grant more space to
the complexities of the issue.

To what extent do the governmental bureaucracies contribute to the
continuing funding of War on Drugs? How does the War on Drugs actually
serve to contribute rather than deter drug use among the young? Why is
that even though white middle class young men are the primary end use
customers of the curb side retailers is it that the latter get all the
blame and most of jail time?

One of Oakland's oldest and most successful business had (and maybe still
does) the business motto, "Find a need and fill it." How is that different
from the activities of drug traffickers?

Gerald M. Sutliff

Oakland, CA