LEGALIZE METH USE

Editor: Before we get excited by Jordan Bateman's scare tactics about meth
(The Times, April 2), we should remember that there would be no outlaw meth
labs in homes if it were legal.

Bateman's claims remind me of the fables, fictions and false witness
used to demonize crack cocaine. The drug warriors claimed that crack
was instantly addictive and had a profoundly negative and permanent
effect on unborn children. Both of these assertions turned out to be
lies.

Drug warriors depicted crack as the drug that would finally destroy
society. Terrible tales of "crack babies" were expounded daily by the
drug fighting fanatics. Harsh mandatory sentencing laws were passed to
save babies from permanent injury.

However, before very long, even Dr Ira Chasnoff, the originator of the
"crack baby" myth, was forced to abandon his crack theories when he
could not distinguish premature babies, alcohol-exposed babies or
babies suffering malnutrition from so-called "crack babies."

REDFORD GIVENS

Schaffer Library of Drug Policy

San Francisco