Regarding "Assisted Suicide in Oregon Faces Federal Intervention"
(Nov. 20): It is in keeping with his agency's record that the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration chief, Thomas Constantine, issued
a,dire warning to doctors who help terminally ill patients commit
suicide. His agency, which regulates the distribution of pain
medication, is responsible for many of these suicides in the
first place.

The drug agency's hypocritical policy first denies adequate pain
relief and then seeks to deny even death as an escape for
sufferers. This is a cruel, inhumane way to treat people.
The amount of narcotics a person in pain might require is none of
the government's business. It is also none of the government's
business how people choose to end their lives. It's time to get
Big Brother out of the doctor's office and away from the dying.

Redford Givens
San Francisco