DRUG TREATMENT BETTER THAN WAR

Dear Editor:

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Prof. Al Gedicks' Sept. 16 op-ed on
Colombia was easily one of the best I've read on the subject.

Plan Colombia could very well spread both coca production and civil war
throughout South America. U.S. tax dollars would be better spent addressing
the socioeconomic causes of civil strife rather than applying overwhelming
military force to attack the symptoms. We're not doing the Colombian
people any favors by funding civil war. Nor are Americans being protected
from drugs.

Destroy the Colombian coca crop and production will boom in Peru, Bolivia
and Ecuador. Destroy every last plant in South America and domestic
methamphetamine production will increase to meet the demand for
cocaine-like drugs.

The self-professed free market champions in Congress can't apply basic
economic principles to drug policy.

Instead of wasting scarce resources waging a futile supply-side war abroad,
we should be funding cost-effective drug treatment here at home.

Robert Sharpe