THE DRUG 'WAR' IS A FAILURE

When will the Times, and especially its editorial board, take an honest
look at the terrible social costs of our so-called "drug war?"

Several recent stories make some of those costs perfectly clear:

A convicted child molester walks the streets on probation after a brief
incarceration, until he kills an innocent little girl (Alexandra Flores).
Then, and only then, does he get court attention and serious prison time.

A three-time drunken driver walks and drives our streets, with no prison
time, and faces serious charges only after he allegedly kills two local men
while driving drunk again.

Even the Times' editorial board notes that drug cases in this region are
straining an "already overloaded judiciary." There's no real "war on drugs:
in this country, just a war on SOME drugs, mainly marijuana, a substance
with no serious health risks and no real connection to violent crime,
death, or other social ills (unlike, say, alcohol).

The Times has an obligation to take a hard, honest look at this issue. By
blindly endorsing a "high level" drug war, you're very much part of the
problem, not the solution.

Mark Mainwaring

West El Paso