I was born and raised in Portsmouth and I'm doing my best to raise my children here.

Why does the press always put a dollar amount on illegal drugs seized?

It seems to me that it is just plain wrong to take something as corrupt as “illegal drugs” such as crack, crank and meth, to name a few, and lend validity and value to these street drugs.

By putting a dollar amount on these drugs (street value), it seems to me that this is a form of recruitment.

Like it or not, there are people who live below the poverty line in this great country of ours, and they can hear and they can read.

It seems to me that by putting a dollar amount on these street drugs, that maybe the press is saying there is money to be made from drugs (value in the street). Can you please tell me why it is important to broadcast the going rate of these drugs? Can you tell me why this is done from coast to coast?

When are we going to stop saying (in a round about way) that drugs are a way out of poverty? We should tell the truth that these illegal substances have “no real value.”

DonRicko Greene

Sciotoville