Dear FRONTLINE,

I was moved to respond when I heard the DEA agents questioning President Carter's stance on marijuana decriminalization. These are men sworn to unquestioningly uphold Prohibition. Mr. Carter had been an officer in the United States Navy, & a nuclear power systems technician.

From personal experience as a sailor, I'd venture a guess that Mr. Carter saw more than a few men smoke marijuana while off duty & perform their duties with no detrimental effects. I abstained while serving, because I'd sworn an oath; however, I knew that several of my fellow avionics technicians did smoke marijuana. Those who did so before or during duty hours were quickly if informally, even roughly counselled to do so no longer: those who did so in their off-duty time were generally neither better nor worse technicians than most.

The hysteria over marijuana has long masked the danger that harder drugs may do. My kids tell me that they don't trust or believe antidrug messages, in part because they're constantly told of the evils of marijuana, while they're seeing the ravages of dangerous drugs among some peers. I've never told the kids marijuana is harmless; I'd no more say that than that alcohol is. It is, however, time for some perspective. Thank you for your time, & for an informative program.

Franklin Moss, Jr
Greenbrier, TN

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a Colombian, I think that the Colombian people should not have to sacrafice their blood for the simple reason of the American drug addiction. I think that the solution for an illegal business that obviously won't go away, is to make it legal.
In the end, cocaine is no worse than cigarettes, alcohol,abortion services,oil and other products.

Diego Pacheco
houston, texas

Dear FRONTLINE,

Drug addicts should be treated, not punished. If one is arrested for drug abuse they should be referred for treatment. If arrested for stealing to support a drug habit, then punish them for stealing and treat their drug habit.

I have personal aquaintance with an addict who has been on methadone for many years. She has raised a family successfully her children are college graduates and lead normal productive lives and she has always had a good job. Without methadone, I shudder to think what would have become of her. I am sure she would be dead or in jail and her family would have certainly suffered. The cost to society would have been great. Her children would have become wards of the state - and then? Certainly, they would not have finished good universities from foster homes.

I do not remember the amount it costs to keep an inmate incarcerated, but I know it is expensive. It makes so much more sense to help the addict survive in the real world. We should not be moralizing drug use. We do not condemn the diabetic's need for insulin.

Jo Valiulis

Dear FRONTLINE,

Perhaps the most powerful Frontline program of all-time.

My personal response to the issue is that Federal 'solutions' that is, the policy of prohibition, have made the situation far deadlier, far worse, than it ever had to be. Have we no institutional memory? The Federal prohibition of the drug, alcohol, was a bloody and costly failure. Resulting in untold death and mayhem, horror and suffering. . . .

And now we allow a corrupt Congress, to manifest this Federal policy failure, by incremental involvement in the bloody, decades long civil-war in Columbia, which has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of children, women and men. Rest assured, we will be asked to sacrifice our sons and daughters in the mountains and hamlets of Columbia, at some point, in support of this murderous Federal policy failure. Have we no shame? Will Americans wake-up before it is too late?

Paul Farris
Austin, Tx

Dear FRONTLINE,

Excellant job from PBS, in objectively reporting on such a complex and often emotional subject.

Yes, I think it's time to re-evaluate the efficacy and consequences of this 30-year strategy. Provided with factual information, common sense would indicate that we have become involved in a war of attrition - a war that we can never hope to win under the present circumstances. Yet, the body count continues to climb. What's next - airborne divisions dropping into South America? I'm sure the idea has been kicked around...

Unfortunately, there are obscene amounts of money involved, corruption exists within the myriad government agencies, and many drug "warriors" have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Ultimately, these factors may prove to be a bigger hurdle to overcome than that presented by the traffickers and cartels themselves.

We have, in my opinion, created another huge, hungry bureaucracy - which has no intention of admitting they goofed and returning it's resources to the American people. There is very little precedent for this in US politics.

If this good-war-gone-bad is to end soon, it will be ended by the voters - much as the Vietnam war was brought to a close. Hopefully, accurate and insightful reporting will bring this day a bit closer. The last 15 years of this "war" on drugs has been signified by lies, propaganda, bungling inefficiency, and consummate greed. Enough is enough! I can't believe that Americans would willingly support such a travesty. Methinks the facts have been a bit obscured.

It's not rocket science, folks - it's all about THE MONEY. When crime doesn't pay, crime doesn't flourish. Sensible laws, not senseless law enforcement, will ultimately bring the drug "menace" under control. 30 years is long enough to see that we've created a problem larger than the original. Best intentions notwithstanding, it's time to clean up this mess.

Again, I commend FRONTLINE for the effort that went into this documentary. It sure got me off the fence. Keep up the good work.

John Keane

Dear FRONTLINE,

While I agree with much of the reach and scope of your report so far, I find a lack of continuity in the exploration of
drug dealing by the CIA and what role US banking establishments have willingly playedin the drug business.

My knowledge of what has been uncovered about the CIA's involvement in drug runninggoes much farther than what Frontline was willing to reveal. ThatCIA Inspector General is just plain lying when he concludes that there is no CIA sponsor-
ed drug activity. Gary Webb, formerly with the San Jose Mercury News did a very professional and accountable job of uncovering what CIA involvement there was in drug
running. When one sweeps away all of the BS criticism of his work by all of the establish-
ment press, one must conclude that he can support his work. His old boss at the SJMN sure seemed to think he proved his work when they printed it.

It was only when the elitistcorporate-owned propaganda-mill punditry flapped its gums about the SJMN allowing a
"loose cannon" like Webb to post his investigatory results in public is when Webb's editor collapsed his ethical spine and retracted the story. Notice that Webb hasn't backed off of his story one millimeter since then. The evidence is clear, the CIA is involved with running drugs.....period!

Kevin Bayhouse
Boise, Idaho

Dear FRONTLINE,

I didn't see any mention of the large American chemical producing corporations involvement in the exportation of chemicals to drug producing nations in your report. These chemicals are a necessary element in the production of drugs such as cocaine. This should have been touched on in part I of your report.

Further, as long as there are profits to be made,and votes to be secured building prisons in this country prevention and treatment will never again be a priority.

The drug "war" is a joke and everyone involved knows this. Their hope is that the American people won't catch on. And from the looks of things I think their wish will be granted.

Christopher Johnson
Saratoga Springs, New York

Dear FRONTLINE,

I cannot believe the insignificant results that our nation's War on Drugs has had on drug trafficking. We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars but we have received no real benefit from it.

Doesn't it seem as if the US government is only ensuring that dealers and traffickers remain profitable by maintaining its current policy? It appears that limiting the supply to only illegitimate suppliers while demand increases has only raised profits for the criminals.

Would it not make sense that if we legalized some of these drugs, they would be easier to control through taxation? Then the law of supply and demand would equalize the price of these drugs to a market equilibrium. If this is accurate, then would not the killings over territory and drug- deals-gone-bad be reduced and eventually disappear?

After these drugs are legalized, then it would be markedly easier to reduce demand by simply placing a hefty tax on the sale of them. In this way we could decrease the burden on society by reducing the cost of maintaining an ineffective, expensive drug war and defraying the societal costs of the effects of drug use and rehabilitation.

David Toms

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a former narc now retired, I'd just like to say that it is the consenus of myself and the men and women that worked with and under me, that there has never been a "war on drugs." There has and always will be a war against blacks, other minorities and those whose class does not meet the desire of other American's.

Kenneth Hunter
Ypsilanti, MI

Dear FRONTLINE,

Having seen the first part of this very interesting program, I miss an analysis of the effect of the war on drugs in terms of

1. the impact it has had on the economy of the South American countries involved

2. the street violence in US cities created by the very lucrative market for drugs as a direct result of drugs being illegal which can be likened to a scenario where eg. cigarettes were outlawed and hence a black market would erupt

3. what would have happened if drugs were to be legalized in the US and hence the Government could control the substances and collect tax money?

4. is there a historical, political, or other reason tobacco and alcohol are the drugs of choice? are there perhaps corporate interests involved?

August Flatby
New York, New York

Dear FRONTLINE,

Being a pot smoker in the US is kind of analogous to being an arab resident of Israel.

winthrop allen
buffalo, ny