THOSE WHO CAN MANAGE DRUGS SHOULDN'T BE CLUBBED

I'd like to commend Greg Sagan on his excellent May 6 column illustrating
the faulty logic at the root of our failed drug policies, "Drug war is
going to burn us all."

In keeping with Mr. Sagan's theme, I would like to share with you a little
story that, I hope, can further illustrate the effect of our federal
government's policy toward the drug use of its own citizens.

A caveman comes upon another caveman starting a small fire and shouts: "Oh
no! You fool! Are you using fire? Did you know I used to use fire all the
time, never thinking it was dangerous?

"But one day, I got burned by the fire! Burned really bad! Now I know that
fire is an evil! And you must not use fire ever again or you'll be burned
really bad, just like me!"

"Nobody should ever again be allowed to use fire!" the first caveman
shouted, to which the other caveman replied: "But I value using fire too
much to never use it again. And besides, I'm careful with it and have
learned how to manage it."

But the first caveman did not believe this. He would not hear any of this
logic. The first caveman was convinced that no good ever could come of
fire, and that surely the other caveman, in his foolishness, eventually
would be horribly burned.

"You fool. The fire has already burned up your mind!" he shouted.

And so the first caveman decided to save the other caveman from burning and
clubbed him to death.

Ghamal de la Guardia

Miami, Fla.