George,

It's ironic the U.S. government spends so much money trying to convince people that purchasing drugs supports terrorists. It is U.S. "Drug War" policy which creates the black market, and the black market is what makes the drug trade so profitable for shady people.

If the U.S. decriminalized narcotics and allowed their free trade on the open market, the black market would disappear -- and so would giant profits for terrorists and warlords.

As the government says in their advertisement, Americans are already spending $60 billion a year on drugs, so why not legalize the product? Give people the freedom to do as they please and stop pouring the money into unsavory pockets.

John Borgmeyer (electronic mail, February 14, 2002)