I found the political cartoon regarding cocaine use printed in the May 14 paper rather ironic. The irony is not the one the cartoonist presumably intended - namely that cocaine harms many people and so is not a victimless crime. Rather, the irony is that the harms identified - - the deaths of Colombian farmers, Mexican police and kids caught in the crossfire of warring drug gangs - are the result of making the use and sale of cocaine illegal, and not the use of cocaine itself.

Perhaps it is time to consider seriously the possibility that the net costs of the war on drugs outweigh those of legalizing and regulating the use of many recreational drugs.

David Lefkowitz

Greensboro

The writer teaches political and legal philosophy at UNCG.

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