A view of drug addiction

Re “Street gang realpolitik,” Current, March 25

Gratefully, finally, some talk about the dope-dealing pachyderm in the parlor; however, the bigger beast that spawned these dope gangsters manages to escape Will Beall’s spotlight. There will be no discernible abatement of malicious gang activity, adolescent drug abuse, prison overcrowding or homelessness until we fess up to and act on the symbiotic relationship between drug prohibition and much of the turmoil we face. We must weed out lawmakers who reject the fact that addiction is a brain disorder. To treat any disease as a character flaw is not only unethical and immoral, it violates human rights. Drug prohibition deserves history’s trash heap.

CHRIS CAUHAPE

Indio