Mr. Brown writes . . .

Our system needs to toughen up on these hard-core criminals. How is this
situation going to stop if we take them off the street on one end, and put
them back in the streets on the other?

Here's how the criminal views it:

Dear citizens:

This fine country is one of freedom, and includes "freedom of enterprise."

I choose to make my money growing, buying and selling drugs. Yes, there
are casualties, just like any industry. But I wear my personal protective
equipment just like you do at your jobs; mine is a gun. Please understand
that there are always casualties in any industry.

This industry provides a very fair income and a lot of benefits. There are
a lot of us employed in this industry, so the loss of life that you read
about is really quite small, in comparison, and therefore, not a great
risk.

Dear citizens, you have laws in place. If we are out of line, we do get
picked up, or our labs and grow-ops are raided by our fine police
citizens.

But we are very fortunate to have judges who see that our rights are
upheld. And our industry has the money and thereby the great benefit of
hiring a good lawyer to make sure that our judges understand our rights.

True, there are some of us who do "questionably" cross the line, but we
are punished by having to run our businesses from a cell for a few months,
or we have to run it from our homes for a while.

Let me offer my fine citizens some helpful hints that can reduce industry
casualties:

1. Avoid dark SUVs at night, and use common sense during the day; be aware
of our industry and its occupational hazards.

2. Duck when you hear firecrackers; they're probably not firecrackers.

3. Remember, we own the streets you live on. Respect that.

4. Keep your children honest; we don't like dishonest drug dealers. We are
always recruiting for new industry leaders.

5. If your son/daughter is dishonest you might suffer a casualty at your
home.

6. We, like all industries, try to minimize casualties, but you must
follow our rules.

This country is full of great freedoms and opportunities, and our system
guarantees that freedom. Thank you to all those politicians and judges who
uphold our rights to "freedom of enterprise." With your help, our industry
continues to grow and be profitable, even in these hard economic times.

Sincerely,

Your local drug dealer/ gangster

We will be running letters from readers on this subject all week. Email
the editor-in-chief at wmoriarty@theprovince.com