Daryl Gates’ Comments on Drug Users

Those were hard words uttered by Gates. The public outcry over his remarks is merely indicative, to me, of just how pervasive the use of illegal substances has become in our society.

Drug-related murders, whether they be in Colombia or on the streets of Los Angeles, are a daily occurrence. Unfortunately, it is not always the drug-related who get killed. We cannot hope to win this war until the casual user wakes up to the fact that he/she is an accessory to murder under the law . . . the law of supply and demand. If the demand stopped, it would no longer be necessary to protect the lucrative commerce of supply. The responsibility for the killing lies not only in the hard-core street dealer, but at the upscale cocktail party where friends casually do a few lines; in the dormitory where the students relax with a joint; in the corporate high-rise office building where the board members pop a few pills to keep the edge.

If Gates suggests fighting gunfire with gunfire, I couldn’t possibly agree with him more. After all, that is what war is, isn’t it?

NATALIE J. MEYER

Downey