Pubdate: Sat, 07 Mar 1998
Date: March 7, 1998
Source: Houston Chronicle
Author:  Gregg Davis

With his tough, drug-war rhetoric, Tony Cantu sounds as if he must 
be planning to run for political office ("Going soft on 
narco-traffickers will hurt our children," Outlook, Mar. 1).

Certification of other countries as allies in the war on drugs is 
a bad idea. Third World countries are unable to cope with the 
power and corrupting influence of drug money.

Decertification is counterproductive. It is supposed to lead these 
countries to just say "no" to the influence of bribes and threats 
against their leaders and to do more to stop the 
multibillion-dollar trade in illegal drugs -- something they have 
been unable to accomplish ever before.

Decertification actually harms the relations with other countries 
and decreases opportunities for legitimate business, pushing new
people to work in the drug trade.

Blaming other countries for illegal drug use in the United States 
is an attempt to escape from reality. No other country would send 
any drugs to the United States if the market in this country 
didn't send tons of dollars to corrupt their citizens.

No one wants their children to use legal or illegal drugs. But to 
claim that $30 billion worth of cocaine is poisoning U.S. 
children each year is an attempt to produce an emotional gut 
reaction rather than an intelligent decision.

Few children buy cocaine. Children are not a factor in what 
drives the illegal drug business. Millions of adult users and the 
billions of dollars spent on plentiful, but prohibited substances, 
are.

Gregg Davis
Houston