WAR ON DRUGS COSTLY POLITICAL CURRENCY

Kudos to Dr. John Haselow for his sensible letter April 30, explaining why
legalization is the only solution to the failed war on drugs. While our
elected representatives are, for the most part, so concerned about being
re-elected, they are scared to tout solutions to the problems of drugs in
society, it is time for serious discussion of this issue.

With Wisconsin's budget crisis threatening cutbacks in basic services, it
is appropriate that the state Legislature's "tough on crime" policies be
discarded. We can no longer afford to lock up otherwise law-abiding
Wisconsinites engaged in consensual drug offenses so politicians can claim
they are tough on crime.

This nation's failed experiment with alcohol prohibition ended when states
stopped enforcing that law. At the state Libertarian convention in Madison
April 13, New Mexico's Republican Governor, Gary Johnson, called for the
legalization of marijuana. That would be a good start.

Gary Storck,

Madison