WHOSE BODY IS IT ANYWAY?

Crispin Sartwell presents an important argument for drug legalization: That
which pertains to an individual -- certainly to his or her body -- is no
one else's business (Commentary, Aug 17).

Almost everyone self-medicates: coffee, sugar, cigarettes, chocolate, TV,
alcohol. While some may seek only mild chemical adjustments -- or none at
all -- others run the gamut of stronger substances, legal or illegal. It's
all about physical chemistry and physiology -- healthier organisms vs.
unhealthy ones -- not good people vs evil people.

Drug users find their drugs, not the other way around. The prevailing
resistance to drug legalization is based on the notion that people will use
a drug simply because it's legally available. This rationale is alarmingly
simplistic.

Most violent crime is drug-related. What else do we need to know? Legalize
all drugs and decriminalize the situation. The drug use itself if not
criminal behavior (except to the body!); what desperate people will do to
obtain drugs or make money off of them is creating an environment of
horrific violence.

Predicating this situation, oddly enough, is our (legal) drug culture,
which teaches children to rely on drugs instead of listening to, and
working with, their own bodies. Having a real feeling? Experiencing a
symptom? Drug it away! Then they are told to "just say no." To whom? To
what? Drugs are drugs to the body. Where is the bottom line? What is
really going on here?

Sartwell's main point, however, is the most important one. What one
chooses to ingest is not the government's business. It's up to the individual.

Katie Wright
Wayne