A FAILED WAR

My hat's off to the writer of the Dec. 4 letter, "Drug-policy connection,"
which cited legislative restriction (prohibition) as the true underlying
cause of the tragedies associated with the drug problem in Detroit and many
other U.S. cities.

For decades, government officials, the media and the general public have
steadfastly blamed the drug problem on such superficial scapegoats as
insufficient police protection, easy access to guns, video violence, etc.,
all the while ignoring the simple truths the years of alcohol prohibition
revealed: Substance abuse cannot be resolved by simply outlawing the
substance.

The losses of thousands of lives and billions of dollars will never end
until it is openly recognized that our war on drugs has been a monumental
failure, and that our drug laws must be drastically revised.

David M. Morse

Grosse Ile