Regarding your front-page report on the Maine governor’s war on drugs (“Impassioned Gov. LePage calls for drug battle reinforcements,” April 1):
In 1971, President Nixon declared drug abuse a public enemy. Since then the U.S. prison population has been exploding; we have the largest in the world!
The Department of Justice in 2011 reported that almost half of those in federal prisons were there for drug offenses – a tremendous expense. And the drug issue and its adverse effects are still with us 40 years later.
The respected Pew Research Center last year found that more than 65 percent of Americans now favor trying a government approach that focuses on providing treatment. Even 51 percent of Republicans favor treatment over punishment.
Gov. LePage is behind the times. Other countries are moving toward trying treatment and away from prison with good results. Vermont has quit the drug war and is treating heroin abuse as a health issue.
How dare Gov. LePage announce that he wants those legislators who oppose his anti-drug policy – which combines prohibition and prison – to be sent to his office so he can “rip ’em a new one”? Words cannot express my disgust with such crude language and vindictive behavior toward those who disagree with him.
Judith Church Tydings
South Thomaston
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