Regarding the story, “County health officer warns of contaminated street drugs,” June 4 SanJuanJournal.com:

San Juan County Health Officer Dr. Frank James’s warning about contaminated street drugs is just another counterproductive aspect of America’s long failed drug crusade.

It should be noted that the problems Dr. James warns about never existed before drug prohibition. When addicts could buy all of the pharmaceutical morphine, heroin, cocaine and anything else they wanted cheaply and legally at the corner pharmacy, they did not drop dead because of contaminated drugs. All of that is the product of a drug policy that has utterly failed for more than 90 years.

So much for “saving people from themselves” using police, courts and prisons.

Ralph Givens
Daly City, Calif.