Drug Trade Means Jobs

Joey Tranchina (Letters, October 2) asks, responding to Switzerland's decision
to distribute heroin to addicts, "What would a 75 percent reduction in
drugrelated crime do for our community?"

Unfortunately, the clear answer is that it would put thousands of law
enforcement and prison personnel out of their jobs. And, it's the reason why it
will never happen.

In "Naked Lunch," William Burroughs wrote about a pair of government bureaucrats
charged with stamping out anthrax who traveled the land sowing that killer
bacteria in order to ensure their future employment. A bad joke that's all too
true and on us.

LORREN DARO
San Francisco