DRUG LEGALIZATION WAS NEVER A GOAL

Former Hawaii U.S. Attorney Dan Bent's scurrilous and distorted personal
attack on me (Letters, Nov. 14) demands a response.

First off, I challenge Bent or any of his drugwarrior colleagues to cite
where and when I have ever advocated the legalization of drugs.

I am a critic of current prohibitionist policies, under which drugs are
totally out of control, resulting in black markets, violence, corruption,
erosion of constitutional rights, exploding prison populations, and
immeasurable harm to society, including children.

What I advocate is a drug policy known as harm reduction, which aims to
minimize, not maximize, the harms created by the war on drugs.

Second, I have never used my university office to promote legalization of
drugs, as Bent states. During my 35 years at the University of Hawaii, my
office was the locus for research and sharing of knowledge with students,
faculty and the public, the normal responsibilities of a faculty member. I
have also encouraged students to question and challenge distortions of
fact, such as that displayed in Bent's letter.

With regard to harming children the shield behind which drug warriors
conveniently hide to avoid a rational debate I must ask how many children
are harmed when their mothers and fathers are imprisoned for long terms,
either for using certain drugs or selling them to one another? How many
mothers did U.S. Attorney Bent send to prison while he was at the public
trough? And what harms befell their children?

Donald M. Topping
Professor Linguistics (Ret.)
President, Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, Inc.