Pubdate: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 Source: Vacaville Reporter (CA) Copyright: 2001 Vacaville Reporter Contact: http://www.thereporter.com/ Author: Crispin Nickolas LAWS MUST TARGET PUSHERS Reporter Editor: In your newspaper (Reporter, March 22), there was an Associated Press story from Washington under the headline. "Most believe U.S. is losing drug war." What else is new? If it is a war, it's one we can never hope to win. The countries that have tough laws and penalties for selling narcotics have few problems with all the crimes associated with drugs. It doesn't take an Einstein to figure out we need much tougher narcotic laws. It's obvious that what we are doing is not working. Lee Iacocca had the right idea in his autobiography when he suggested that a second conviction for selling narcotics should be an "automatic death sentence -- no appeal." The pushers know the laws better than the average person and rely on our lenient laws. Laws without severe punishment are meaningless laws and the pushers know it. The liberals will scream about a death penalty, but what about all the countless people the pusher kills every day they continue to sell drugs? Ask any policeman the number of crimes associated with drugs. Crispin Nickolas, Vacaville - --- MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer