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 drug-warrior 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.