'DRUG WAR' IS DRAIN ON NATION

I am writing regarding the Neal Peirce column, "Call off the war on drugs,"
which appeared recently in the Herald-Tribune. I roundly applaud your
newspaper for the courage to print an essay calling for an end to the
so-called "drug war."

Peirce warns, "until we flip our drug policy, putting prevention and
treatment first - we'll have neither the resources nor the focus to pursue
the very real terrorist threat we face." I agree!

Americans awoke to see what was important in their lives after the horrible
massacre of Sept. 11. We have seen the enemy! It is an enemy that requires
all our resources and efforts to defeat it.

Wars cost lots of money. The so-called "drug war" costs lots of money. It
uses thousands and thousands of police and military, with federal and state
bureaucrats all over the country running it. It uses federal and state
courts, judges, and prosecutors. It uses federal and state jails and
prisons and guards.

Our drug war gobbles up money like a tapeworm; year after year after year.
We have the highest prison population in the world and things are no
different than they were before.

This "drug war" of ours is made up. It is a phony and spineless war. It is
a war against our fellow citizens, our co-workers, our family, and our
friends. These people are not the enemy. If a drug user committs a real
crime, lock him up, convict him if you can, and punish him. Don't do this
because he/she uses or possesses drugs. Where is the morality in taking
away a person's freedom and good name because he/she uses drugs?

This "war" of ours is called the "drug war" for impact. The word "war" is
calculated to give this thing of ours urgency and importance. If we didn't
call it a "war" we might see it for what it is.

We need to be rational about this. We need to step out of the dark and into
the light.

Stephen V. Watson
Sarasota