HERE'S THE RUB

May I please comment on Victor R. Virzi's thought-provoking letter ["Break
the Law, Pay the Price," June 15]?

Mr. Virzi makes two points. First, student loans should not be given to
those with a drug conviction within the prior year because drug use renders
the individual less able to repay the loan. Second, those who are denied
loans on this basis learn this valuable lesson - that there is a price to
be paid for breaking the law.

On the first point, Mr. Virzi offers no evidence whatsoever to support his
assertion. On the second, piling on a second punishment on top of the one
handed out by the courts seems unfair to me.

Mr. Virzi is of course correct in saying, "Our Constitution gives us the
inalienable right to freedom," but here's the rub: How does that square
with laws that punish people for what they choose to ingest into their own
bodies?

Alan Randell, Victoria, British Colombia