I'VE BEEN THERE

Re: "Task force's view on drugs is firsthand," Nov. 8.

Steve Blow's column saddens but does not surprise me. I too am a
member of the Drug Policy Forum of Texas, and share the belief that
regulation of illicit drugs in the same manner as alcohol is the only
reasonable answer to our country's problems. Unfortunately, the
attitude Mr. Blow describes is the prevalent one.

He writes about a police officer who contends reformers are far
removed from the realities of the harm caused by drugs. This is not
true for me. I have been there. I was a junkie.

I started using hard drugs at 16. I started intravenous use when I was
20. Since needle exchanges were illegal, I shared needles and
contracted Hepatitis C when I was 21. I tried to take my life three
times after five days without sleep under the influence of stimulants.
I have pumped more poison into my body than I care to remember, and
spent the equivalent of a house on it. Nobody needs to tell me about
the devastating effects drug abuse can have on a person's life.

I earn six figures now, but there was a time in my life when I
couldn't eat as I waited for the man to buy the next fix. I have two
children now that I love dearly, a wonderful wife and a white picket
fence life. I don't use drugs of any kind, including alcohol.

The officer mentioned in the article states that he believes the black
market would not disappear: None of the dealers I have met would be in
the business if drugs were regulated. None of the many users would
have to steal your car, break into your house or commit any number of
other crimes to finance their habit. There would be no turf wars and
neighborhoods would be safe. There would be no illegal market as the
example of alcohol clearly shows.

I don't want my children to use drugs. I want to make drugs as
unavailable to them as I can. While alcohol is sold in stores and
largely unavailable to children, pot is readily available in any
schoolyard. I know the devastating potential drugs represent and I
don't want anybody going through what I have gone through. I have
given this much thought and I know that the best way to get there is
regulation.

Rolf Ernst, Frisco

Checked-by: Patrick Henry