DRUG WAR ADVOCATE'S ARGUMENTS ARE SHALLOW

In his Speakout column of June 3, "War on Drugs should not be abandoned,"
Richard Stacy refuses to recognize facts while daring "anyone . . . to prove
otherwise" in his ill-founded argument to continue the failed drug
prohibition experiment.

Stacy states ". . . alcohol lands more people in jail than all other drugs
combined," despite the clearly documented fact that there are currently more
people in federal prisons for drug offenses than all other crimes combined!

To prove just how shallow the prohibitionist argument really is, he then
implies that we would suddenly have surgeons operating and pilots flying
while high on dope if we ended drug prohibition, as if we currently suffer
from drunken doctors and pilots because of the end of alcohol prohibition.

Lastly, he mentions Brittney Chambers' death from Ecstasy. Did he suddenly
forget that Ecstasy is already illegal? Would making it "double illegal"
bring Brittney back to life? He failed to mention of course, that Ismael
Mena would be alive today if we had ended drug prohibition and its
concomitant no-knock raids.

Joseph Johnson, Chairman, Libertarian Party of Boulder County

Lafayette

INSULTING ASSERTIONS

I am disheartened at how our "drug warriors" spread misinformation and
scare tactics in their attempts to justify our nation's failed drug
policies. (Richard Stacy's "War on Drugs should not be abandoned,"
Speakout, June 3).

The author states that any deviation from our current policies would
lead "millions of nonusing Americans" to start "using those drugs."
There is not one shred of evidence to support his statement. The
assertion that a "surgeon" might shoot "a little heroin or crank"
before fixing your busted ski knee defies logic and is an insult to
people who take these issues seriously.

Stacy "dares" us to prove that alternatives to prohibition work. Fair
enough, just look at the research from the Dutch and Swiss
governments. Lower crime, less drug use, and healthier citizens should
be proof enough. Americans deserve no less.

Matthew Baker

Conifer