DRUGS, CORRUPTION, VIOLENCE GO TOGETHER

I want to thank Mark Sauer and the Union-Tribune for the excellent article "Anti-War Movement," ( Currents, Jan.  16 ).  As one of the nation's leading newspapers, the Union-Tribune has the civic obligations to act as a watchdog monitoring the objectives, methods and consequences of the government's multibillion dollar war on drugs.

The violence of daylight shootouts in downtown Tijuana and overt police corruption may not be apparent to San Diego-area residents, yet it would be naive to believe that drug war corruption stops at an artificial border.  Drug war prohibition is the incentive for an underworld economy of illegal drug sales, bribery, money laundering, racketeering, perjury and obstruction of justice.  By its location alone, it is logical to question the full role the drug war plays in San Diego's economy and government.

One of the best ways to approach this problem is to have an open dialogue and investigation.  I call upon the Union-Tribune to initiate an in-depth inquiry into how the drug war influences the citizens and government of San Diego.

Barbara MacKenzie, San Diego