A front page story in Monday's News Journal said, "Police and city officials blame the spike in violence on a loose judicial system and entrenched social problems, such as unemployment, school dropouts and drug abuse."

Allowing a ludicrous statement like this to go unchallenged is the sort of irresponsible `journalism' we've come to expect from publications that support the so-called War on Drugs, and it shouldn't fool us any more.

Why can't they just be honest and call it "Prohibition related violence" or "Drug-Law related violence"?

Delaware's judicial system is anything but loose: we are #1 in the U.S for per capita prison rate. That is not a statistic to be proud of.

There might be less unemployment if many inner city residents didn't have criminal records (due to drug laws) making it difficult for them to get jobs.

And there is no violence associated with the legal drug trade. If CVS opens a store across the street from Happy Harry's, it does not lead to a bloody turf war. Disputes between pharmacists and customers do not result in shootings.

Violence only appears when prohibition distorts the market by increasing profits and risks, and removing quality controls and peaceful methods of resolving conflicts.