DECRIMINALIZE DRUGS

Thanks for publishing Robert Sharpe's outstanding letter: "Jail Overcrowding" ( 8-01-04 ).

I'd like to add that many judges and prison wardens have said that 70 to 90 percent of all property crime and violent crime is "drug-related."

Actually almost 100 percent of all so-called "drug-related crime" is caused by drug prohibition policies - not drugs.

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.

Many currently employed in law enforcement are opposed to the idea of re-legalizing all types of recreational drugs.  That's because if drugs were re-legalized, we would need far fewer law enforcement personnel, far fewer prison guards and no prison builders.

Thus, many now employed in law enforcement and the prison industry would be looking for a job or washing cars for a living.

Of course, those opposed to re-legalizing drugs because it would affect their livelihood will not admit it.  Instead they will cite noble reasons such as protecting the children.

As if the current policies are protecting children from drugs.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.