NO DIFFERENCE IN ADDICTS EXCEPT THEIR RESOURCES

Re: "Seeing criminal addicts through middle-class eyes" (Opinion, Aug. 10):

I was taken aback by Jim and Ed Gogek's logic. They evidently have decided
that there are at least two classes of drug users: the middle-and
upper-class professionals who are able to control their use, and the
so-called "criminal addicts," who are a virtual different species.

It never seems to have occurred to the Gogeks that the difference may
simply be that middle-and upper-class drug users are affluent enough to be
able to pay for drugs, while lower-class users can't pay for them without
resorting to criminal behavior.

More and more, I think the model for a solution to the drug problem lies in
the approach we've slowly evolved regarding tobacco: Allow the product to
be sold legally, put a heavy tax on it and use the tax money to pay for the
genuine social harm caused, including costs of treatment for addicts as
well as the greater health-care costs they will incur through the physical
damage of long-term use.

Mark Gabrish Conlan, San Diego