Effects of Unjust Drug Laws Aren’t Unintended

Re “Unintended Effect of War on Drugs Found in Study,” Sept. 20:

The article makes it abundantly clear that there has been a decades-long process of “drug enforcement” that has resulted in the incarceration of hundreds of thousands of minority and poor individuals. Most of the prisoners are nonviolent, low-level offenders, and a disproportionate share are minorities. Given the information in the article, the headline is misleading and outrageous. This outcome of the war on drugs is well-known and predictable, not unintended. These punitive policies will continue to have their intended effects until our lawmakers and opinion leaders find it in their interests to change the unjust drug laws.

Gerald Rosen

Fullerton