FAILED DRUG POLICY

Thanks for publishing William Moyers' June 28 column, "President's past
should shape his policies." I agree with Moyers' position that, because of
his past, President Bush is the ideal leader to exercise his compassionate
conservatism by reprioritizing spending in the war on drugs. Our
predominantly punitive national drug policy strategy has been propagating
the vision of a drug-free America for almost 20 years now. Let's be honest;
America will never be drug-free. This country delights in drug taking.

The glamorous government-sanctioned drugs, alcohol and tobacco, claim many
more lives each year than all illegal drugs combined. It is time for a new
science-based drug strategy that works to reduce the potential harm
associated with all drugs. Spending billions of dollars a year to
"rehabilitate" people in jails where drugs are still readily available is
an insult to justice. Just saying no just doesn't cut it.

Noelle Davis