Pubdate: 3 Dec 1998 Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX) Contact: http://www.star-telegram.com/ Copyright: 1998 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? Your Tuesday editorial "The Main Thing" inaccurately characterized those who oppose our present system of drug prohibition as not taking the drug abuse problem seriously. A regulated reversal of many of the prohibition laws would most likely have the effect of decreasing the adverse effects of drug abuse. We learned this through the Volstead Act, which prohibited alcohol in the United States. It made a great opportunity for organized crime, and much adverse health effects from illegal alcohol. It did not stop alcohol abuse. Our present system of drug prohibition is tantamount to subsidizing the illicit drug purveyors by $400 billion a year -- about the amount of our defense budget. Bill Lockhart Alpine WE WON'T SHUT UP According to "The Main Thing," the Editorial Board apparently thinks that people who get up and express their contrary opinion at school- sponsored drug forums are attention-seekers. I also know that when the `Star-Telegram uses the term `sideshow,' it is intended as a pejorative. Those of us in the movement that I know may be offended, but we are not stigmatized. We are not going to shut up and sit down, and we are rather proud of that. Lest you editorialists be consumed in your own sense of having the answers, let me point out that your championed solutions haven't worked yet. So think a bit about this: Insanity is continuing to do the same things and expecting different results. Larry Nickerson Fort Worth FORBIDDEN FRUIT I lost a very close relative earlier this year due to alcohol, and I am still grieving over that loss. However, I think that one way to really get rid of the epidemic of drug addiction as well as alcoholism would be legalization. Most street drugs are being consumed by teen-agers, mainly because they are the "forbidden fruit." Alcohol, although legal, is still the "forbidden fruit" to those who are under 21. Furthermore, there is a criminal element out there that is making the kind of money that most of us will never see in a lifetime because of the criminality of drug use. Our society is losing the "war against drugs," and we will keep losing it as more teen-agers either die or become mentally or physically handicapped, not to mention the babies born to drug-addicted mothers. Legalization of drugs and the removal of the minimum age for alcohol would benefit our society because the government could license and tax these substances just like anything else we consume. After these substances are legalized, then increase the education about alcohol and drug use and show graphically how bad it is all for us. Once the element of prohibition is removed, fewer teen-agers will be tempted to try alcohol or drugs, the criminal element will lose its main source of income, and there will be more room behind bars for the violent criminals who are truly a threat to our society. Maria M. Moon Fort Worth - --- Checked-by: Mike Gogulski