LOOSENING UP

It's unusual to see your stance of tolerance toward students ( Use and
educated drug policy ) who are reluctant to answer a question regarding
prior drug use/convictions. But I commend you for that loosening of your
overall moral posture. In 1998 you fought against the medical marijuana
bill.

Your opinion at that time as I recall, parroted comments by Dan Noelle and
other law enforcement officials who felt we would have teens getting the
wrong message and injecting marijuana if the MM bill passed.

As we reach the 2 millionth American in prison or jail and prepare to invade
Colombia, newspapers around the nation are calling for an end to our hostile
ways. Here in Oregon we see no great rush of people to hospital emergency
rooms suffering overdoses of pot. In fact the program is running very well
and is becoming a model for other states.

Our headlong rush to incarcerate our way out of the drug war is leaving us a
nation of the undereducated. If we cannot read and cannot vote, the Bill of
Rights and the Constitution become unused and abused.

If drug use is not a disqualifier for our highest office, it should not
disqualify a student from furthering his or her education.

Allan Erickson Eugene, Oregon