CONTRARY TO GAZETTE'S VIEW, DRUG CONTROL POLICIES ARE QUITE SUCCESSFUL

In the March 2 Our View, "Drug war's tally," The Gazette painted a
very bleak, almost hopeless picture of America's so-called War on
Drugs. Fact is, the terms "war on drugs" and "drug warriors" are
nothing more than inflammatory rhetoric, employed by those who want an
end to all government efforts against illegal drug use.

Actually, America's anti-drug effort is officially called the National
Drug Control Strategy. It's directly tied into the National Drug
Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998. This act has its roots in
the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and requires the president to
submit annual reports to Congress, which outline, as the report
clearly states, "efforts at reducing drug abuse and the consequences
of drug abuse in the United States by limiting the availability of and
reducing the demand for illegal drugs."

John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy,
said in testimony before Congress, on Feb. 26, that prevention,
treatment and intervention are the three main pillars of the White
House drug control strategy.

The report specifically stated the following:

"Stopping Use Before it Starts. We are using parents, educational
institutions, the media, and community action to prevent young people
from experimenting with drugs in the first instance and starting on
the path that all too often leads to addiction, crime, and personal
and familial destruction."

"Healing America's Drug Users. We are placing a strong emphasis on
drug treatment. The president has made a historic commitment of $1.6
billion over five years in increased treatment funding. We will work
to deploy these resources to areas and populations that need it most
and provide more effective outreach to the chronically addicted drug
using population."

"Disrupting the Market. We are readjusting our efforts in supply
reduction based on market principles. We will identify and target
strategic vulnerabilities in the business of drug trafficking. We will
attack the drugs, money and corrupt financial institutions, precursor
chemicals, key managers and individuals, crops, key transit routes,
and key communication links that facilitate drug trafficking."

Anyone who has followed the government's drug control efforts over the
last 20 years knows what the real facts are. While there has been a
steady use of illegal drugs by adolescents throughout the 1990s,
overall drug use in America has been significantly reduced in the last
two decades, from some 26 million users in 1979 to about 14 million
users today. The drop in illegal drug use can be directly traced to
successful efforts by law enforcement to stop the spread of illegal
drugs and through increases in tough sentencing measures by our
criminal justice system.

The idea that these anti-drug efforts are really a war on the American
people is utterly ridiculous.

This isn't a war on drugs, but rather an ongoing effort to reduce the
importation of illegal drugs into the United States, imprison drug
dealers and abusers, and to educate people about the harmful and
destructive effects of illicit drugs.

Most Americans consider illegal drug use to be immoral behavior, but
they view efforts to reduce illicit drug use as a worthy and just
cause for our government to be involved in.

John Virtue,
Colorado Springs