BUSH, GORE; HYPOCRITICAL DRUG POSTURING

Kudos to Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader for having the
good sense to advocate marijuana legalization ["Nader slams war on
drugs; calls for legalization of pot," news story, Sept. 9]. The
hypocrisy of the mainstream candidates is glaring.

Vice President Al Gore is an acknowledged former pot smoker. George W.
Bush's waffling all but confirms a history of illegal drug use. Yet
both mainstream candidates implicitly support the incarceration of
Americans who engage in the same youthful indiscretions they once did.

This "tough on drugs" posturing puts children at risk. Marijuana is
often demonized as a gateway drug leading to use of crack and heroin.
However, it is our misguided drug policy that provides the gateway.
Liquor store clerks don't offer customers free samples of crack when
they buy alcohol. They also check IDs for age--something unheard of on
the black market.

Regulation is desperately needed to restrict access to drugs.
Legalizing marijuana for adults would undermine the volatile black
market and make it harder for kids to purchase drugs.

This harm reduction shift may send the "wrong message" to children, but
I like to think that the children themselves are more important than
the message. Then again, I'm not a sanctimonious politician who depends
on drug hysteria for re-election.

Robert Sharpe, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, George Washington
University, Washington, D.C.