War on Drugs Is Not Hopeless

Prof. Stephen Morse of the University of Southern California, in two Times articles (Editorial Pages, Aug. 14 and Sept. 8), would have your readers believe that a war on drugs not only cannot be won, but also that it should not be fought.

The articles deal mostly in half-truths, unnamed studies and unsubstantiated statistics, that even if partially true, paint a hopeless picture that strongly suggests that we capitulate before we have really begun to fight.

The professor is certainly correct, however, in his statement that “law enforcement cannot win the war on drugs.” I wholeheartedly agree! Law enforcement alone cannot win the war on substance abuse.

To exert any meaningful impact will take a united, national effort, involving virtually every segment of society, working together with a commitment as strong as when we licked the Axis powers in World War II or when we, as a nation, obliterated infantile paralysis with our pennies and dimes.

Make no mistake. The growing menace of substance abuse is more likely to destroy our civilization than all of the Soviet Union’s nuclear missiles that are aimed at our shores.

Morse’s ideas are not new or innovative. Timothy Leary championed the cause of drug decriminalization for more than 20 years, and helped to spawn a decade of violent civil disobedience, student rebellion and near-anarchy in our streets.

If, as Morse suggests, we decriminalize the use of drugs, I believe that we will be admitting defeat and inviting disaster. What will happen if drugs become cheaper and more readily accessible? We invite social acceptance of and legal drug use by a generation of Americans in the workplace, in government, in law enforcement, in the courts, in education, in religious institutions, and in literally every aspect of society.

Heroin, cocaine, PCP, marijuana, and synthetic drugs would presumably be made legal under Morse’s proposal. Bus drivers, airplane pilots, police officers, judges, and a host of other occupations that we rely on for safe performance, judgment and correct decision-making, could feel free to partake of legal drugs to the point of addiction, under a decriminalized system.

Legal consumption of drugs could permeate our armed services and lead to a situation where our national defenses would be jeopardized by the addiction of personnel who are responsible for the defense of our very system of government.

Morse also fails to address the most important issue--our children. We are discovering that our children are becoming involved in drug usage at younger and younger ages. Legal, cheaper and more readily available drugs will ensure immature youngsters who are least able to decide whether drug use is appropriate.

We must continue, through programs such as my department’s S.A.N.E. (Substance Abuse and Narcotics Education) program, to teach youngsters decision-making and coping skills, provide them the enhanced self-image that will help them resist peer pressure and have the courage to say no to drugs.

Occasionally, some individuals focus their attention more on the frustration encountered when law enforcement does not experience overwhelming success in our efforts to eradicate drugs than on the tragic damage that such drugs inflict on our children and others. I believe that Morse is doing this now. I can appreciate and I share the frustrations that he must feel about our limited successes so far, but unlike him, I am not prepared to surrender.

Alcohol and tobacco abuse continues to be a severe problem for our nation. But unlike Morse, I see encouraging signs of a turnaround in our collective attitude toward these dangerous substances. All one need do is look around our nation’s schools, homes, and workplaces and count the number of tobacco smokers. They are and have been diminishing rapidly, and a smoke-free society remains an achievable goal for all of us.

SHERMAN BLOCK

Sheriff

Los Angeles County