In response to the April 2 letter, "Drug users cause murders they don't know about," I have to say that if guilt were truly useful as a tool for motivation, the world would be a different place.

The headline is semi-true. But "murders they don't know about" might also apply to those who wear diamonds, eat bananas, drink beer or burn gasoline. If one studies history, one may find that these and other industries have dark pasts, certainly as dark as the drug cartels.

So the point is moot, really.

Greed is the real culprit, and we are all accomplices. We all covet or lust for something, be it clothes, cars, jewelry, nice homes, land, sex, good food or just a good buzz. Many people make it their serious business to provide these things for anyone with the money.

The author did make one valid point: "If there wasn't a market for illegal drugs, there wouldn't be a drug trade." Here's a good argument for legalization, as it would eliminate the black market for illegal drugs.

This would create tax revenue for our ailing economy, while taking it away from street gangs. It would also lighten the load on our prisons and judicial system, thereby giving more room for serious criminals.

I'm neither for nor against legalization, but one thing is obvious: the war on drugs isn't working. Prohibition of alcohol didn't work either; it only gave rise to gangsters such as Al Capone. The drug trade has similarly created another generation of gangsters.

The drug trade has always existed, legal or not. And it always will exist, like it or not.

People aren't going to change, either. There will always be the hedonists, the escapists and the "creative" ones. And there will always be the finger pointing, self-righteous ones. Steve Gunner Newbury Park