NO GOOD WORDS FOR PROHIBITION

I'm writing about Sandy Cote's outstanding letter "Prohibition is the problem" ( April 20, p.  3 ).

I'd like to add that almost all the problems our society has with illegal drugs are because the drugs are illegal.

When Coca-Cola contained cocaine instead of caffeine and sold for 5 cents a bottle, the term "drug-related crime" didn't exist.  Neither did drug lords, drug cartels or even drug dealers as we know them today.

Almost all of the harms from illegal drugs are because the drugs are illegal.  Because drugs are illegal, the drugs are of unknown quality, unknown purity and unknown potency.  This is the cause of most of the deaths from illegal drugs.

Because drugs are illegal, they are unregulated, untaxed and controlled by criminal gangs - just like alcohol was when it was illegal.

Many prison wardens and judges have said that 70 to 90 percent of all property crime and violent crime is "drug-related." Actually, almost 100 percent of all drug-related crime is caused by our drug prohibition policies.  Not drugs.

Cote is right - prohibition is the problem.

Kirk Muse

MESA, ARIZ.