Harsh Drug Sentences

* Anyone who doubts that our futile “war on drugs” not only has no effect on drug usage but has turned our country into a police state just needs to read “A Question of Motive Dogs Texas Panhandle Drug Bust” (Oct. 7), describing how 43 small-time drug users (many found with as little as one-eighth of an ounce of drugs) in Tulia, a small Texas town, have been sentenced to prison for up to 434 years.

Isn’t it time some of our legislators found their backbones and put an end to this travesty that is ruining lives, corrupting law enforcement, financing criminals and costing us billions annually?

BILL LAKIN

Wrightwood

*

* Congratulations to the people of Tulia, Texas! As a black American, having seen what drugs and their dealers have done to Los Angeles and other cities, I welcome Tulia’s hard-line approach to solving this epidemic. So what if the majority of the suspects are black. Does it really make a difference? It is against the law to use or sell drugs. If you are caught with any amount of drugs, then whatever sentence you get, too bad! Let’s not forget that this article stated that the person who got the longest sentence was a nonblack. This person received over 400 years.

The bottom line is, you play, you pay.

RUSSELL J. GIVENS JR.

Alta Loma