THE COCAINE WAR

“Adventures in the Drug Trade,” by William Overend (May 7), was what I call a 2-D expose that failed to explore the other dimension. The grand images of black dealers and users and Colombian suppliers were in such excess that it made me question the intentions of the author. Was he trying to further tarnish the image of blacks and Hispanics who already suffer enough from institutionalized racism?

I challenge Overend to come to my neighborhood, where drugs are rampant, and spend the day tracking drug deals. He will soon find that most of the white dealers and users have not gone underground. He will also find that most of the young thugs on the street are just front operations for the real pulse of the drug market. That pulse includes everyone from the city officials and police officers who overlook the drug deals to the businessman who supplies the dope. No race or nationality is innocent.

PAULA L. EVANS

Lennox