DRUG USE IS PERSONAL, NOT PUBLIC PROBLEM

I take umbrage with Robert Sharpe, program officer with the Lindesmith
Center-Drug Policy Foundation of Washington ("U.S. war on drugs only feeds
problems in Colombia," Letters, Dec. 22). Mr. Sharpe recommends that the
government treat "all substance abuse - legal or otherwise" as a "public
health problem." Public health problems traditionally have been
"communicable diseases" like typhoid or tuberculosis that pose an immediate
danger to the public. E coli or poor sanitary conditions that could result
in a rodent infestation could also be considered "public health" concerns.

Drug use is a vice, not a crime or a medical disorder. Drug use is a
private health matter. Taking drugs is an act of the will, not something
that is "caught" like a disease. By suggesting that private health matters
are somehow akin to public health concerns, Mr. Sharpe implicitly approves
of the government's prohibitionist interventions.

Government should mind their own business. Is excessive drinking in your
own home a "public health" concern? Does it cause you harm if your neighbor
is privately using drugs? If drug use does not break your leg or pick your
pocket, then it should be of no concern to legitimate government. Drug laws
are the cause of more crimes than drug use.

The government should restore our natural right to drugs. As Thomas
Jefferson said in an address to the Virginia State Legislature, "If the
state were to control our drugs and our diet then our bodies would be in
such keeping as our souls are now."

Chris Buors, Winnipeg Manitoba