Pubdate: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX) Copyright: 1999 Cox Interactive Media, Inc. Contact: P. O. Box 670 Austin, Texas 78767 Fax: 512-445-3679 Website: http://www.Austin360.com/ Author: Frank Castellana, Austin, LOSING THE DRUG WAR Re: Dec. 3 editorial "Death on the border." The first paragraph of the editorial said "The mass graves near the Texas border illustrate the deadly repercussions of the drug trade and the urgent need for U.S. and Mexican officials to join forces to stop narcotics trafficking." The absolute opposite is true. The fact that the drug trade is illegal is why those people died. If the drug trade were legal, then nobody would be risking prosecution, therefore, there would be no need to kill anybody over drug trafficking. Remember the failed prohibition of alcohol? The same thing is happening here. The war on drugs has claimed too many lives. Too much money has been spent on narcotics law enforcement, prosecution and incarceration. The joint effort between the United States and Mexican officials means the U.S. pouring money into the Mexican black hole. Just think, corrupt Mexican officials will not only be getting paid by drug traffickers, they will also be getting paid by the U.S. law enforcement. Pretty sweet, ain't it? The war on drugs may be well-intentioned, but it is futile to legislate morality or pass laws to protect people from themselves. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart