END THE WAR

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's disclosure of the link between
terrorism and drug trafficking (Tribune, July 31) highlights yet another
reason to end our government's perpetual, unwinnable War on Drugs. The
reason drug trafficking is linked to terrorism is that by keeping certain
drugs illegal (and convincing other countries to do the same), we have
caused the prices (and profits) of illegal drugs to skyrocket, while doing
absolutely nothing to stem their supply or demand. Our government is
actually making it easier for terrorist organizations to raise money to
support their causes. Strange that our politicians don't seem to realize
that. But maybe they're too busy catering to the lobbying efforts of prison
guards unions, the police, and the corporations that operate many prisons
and have an interest in sending as many people to prison as possible. If we
treated drug abuse as the medical problem it is instead of locking up a
significant percentage of Americans for non-violent possession, we could
halve our prison population and, at the same time, strike a blow for freedom.

CARLA S. MOQUIN

West Valley City