PARENTS, NOT STATE, SHOULD BE AUTHORITY

The fly in the ointment of Leonard Pitts Jr.'s "set the boundaries"
argument is that our parents and grandparents were wise enough to listen to
the wisdom of the ages that expounded the timeless Shakespearean argument
of "moderation in all things."

Parents protect children from all the evil chemicals lurking under the
kitchen sink, but when it comes to chemicals we label as drugs, paternalism
in the form of state dictate rears its ugly head to protect the children.
Whew, what a load off the minds of parents. So I want to make the time and
culture tested argument that when the state sets the boundaries, the
parents are relieved of the responsibility. That would serve as a more
realistic explanation for so-called "bad parenting" than the psychobabble
offered up by Pitt. The solution to drug use in America is to restore our
natural right to drugs.

Chris Buors

Winnipeg, Manitoba