DRUG POLICY'S THIN LINE

To the editor:

Guest columnist Clark Brittain was right on the mark in his column,
"Nation's misguided policy on drugs strikingly similar to Vietnam" (Aug.
28). One issue Mr. Brittain didn't cover is the right of a free country's
government to punish its citizens for consuming substances that can only
harm the users themselves.

Every justification for the prohibition of marijuana and other recreational
drugs can also be made for the prohibition of a long list of potentially
unhealthy foods.

There is a thin line between the prohibition of recreational drugs and the
prohibition of unhealthy foods. Our government cannot protect us from
ourselves and our government should not try to.

Kirk Muse, Vancouver, Wash.