In his July 24 column ("Drug war is a failure, so let's experiment"), Jason Lewis quotes me as saying that "in the grand scheme, it [the 'war on drugs'] has not been successful."
I have long believed that we cannot simply arrest our way out of our drug problem. The "war on drugs" rhetoric represents an overly simplistic approach to a complex public health and public safety problem.
However, it is just as simplistic -- and just as misguided -- to think that decriminalization is the solution to America's drug problem. Lewis refers to the Global Commission on Drug Policy, an advocacy group that recently called for the decriminalization of all illegal drugs.
While it is tempting to think that decriminalization offers a simple solution, the facts tell us otherwise.
A recent report by the Department of Justice's National Drug Intelligence Center about the economic impact of illicit drug use indicates that the annual cost of illicit drug use on health care and productivity alone amount to more than $80 billion.
Making illicit drugs legal -- and therefore more accessible -- would not reduce any of these costs to our society. Lewis presents his readers with a false choice: Either accept the old "war on drugs" approach or embrace decriminalization.
The president's national strategy on drugs treats the problem with the seriousness it deserves, addressing a complex issue through a balanced public health and public safety approach.
GIL KERLIKOWSKE, WASHINGTON, D.C.
