DRUG IRRATIONALITY

I am writing in response to Jeffrey Eisenberg's March 26 column,
"Exposing common drug use myths." While Mr. Eisenberg identifies some
logical loopholes in the "war against drugs" argument, I feel that he
is missing some fundamental truths at the root of the threat that drug
use poses to the individual.

The basic flaw of Mr. Eisenberg's argument is his failure to
acknowledge the biological ways in which drugs affect humans. The
factors of free will and rationality are taken out of the decision
making equation when a drug like cocaine is used to manipulate
dopamine levels in the brain. As coke produces its "high," it is
simultaneously operating along neurological pathways that allow it to
be powerfully addicting at the same time.

Beneath Mr. Eisenberg's rationale is the fundamental assumption that a
person under the influence of drugs or addicted to drugs still has
access to the same powers of reason as a person with a clear and
unadulterated mind. A sane person with full rational capabilities,
however, would never smack his or her head against a stone wall; a
person subject to the chemically induced addictive powers of a drug
like cocaine or heroin may engage in self-endangering activities as a
result of the drug habit. I used to work with recovering drug addicts
in a recovery center; to be asked to believe that, for example, the
broke 45 year old heroin addict who robbed gas stations for drug money
would have done so in his right mind, had drugs not been involved, is
ludicrous.

To me, this article seems little more than an immature and
exhibitionary attempt on Mr. Eisenberg's part to demonstrate his
ability to construct a sound argument based on the principles of
logic. Even on this ground, I feel, he has failed.

Alice C. Ours

CLAS IV