Headline: Tony Phillips and druglaw hysteria
BY: Alan W. Bock
Mr. Bock is the Register's senior editorial writer.

Anaheim Angels sparkplug Tony Phillips is just the most recent victim of
the drug laws.

A victim? Not at all,you might say. He was the one who went to that seedy
hotel in Anaheim and (allegedly, of course, there's still court action to
come) bought a rock of crack and was there with a pipe.Assuming it's
proven,he did the deed. How can you call him a victim?

Breaking the law is foolish and serious, of coursealthough repeated fund
raising telephone calls from government offices, which the president and
vice president have grudgingly admitted doing, are far more serious and
blatant than what Tony Phillips is alleged to have done. We haven't heard
many calls from people who claim to be their friends and have the best
interests of the White House at heart to take either of them out of the
lineup.

But let's try a little thought experiment.

Suppose we lived in a world in which cocaine was viewed as a chemical
rather than as a demonized substance so evil it has to be outlawed. Would
the Angels or a majorleague baseball have a policy forbidding players to
use it? What would have been the consequences of Ton Phillips'(alleged) act
in such a world?

There would have been consequences for him personally. According to Edward
M. Brecher, in his authoritative book, Licit and Illicit Drugs, "repeated
use of large doses of cocaine produces a characteristic paranoid psychosis
in all or almost all users,and...the tendency to overuse is widespread.
"Some people seem to move to overuse quickly, while others are able to use
modest doses for prolonged periods of time, whether because of biochemical
or psychological differences or some other reason.

Cocaine addiction differs from opiate addiction in that withdrawal does not
usually involve major physical symptoms. But, Brecher notes, "cocaine
withdrawal is characterized by a profound psychological manifestation
depression for which cocaine itself appears to the user to be the only
remedy."

Crack cocaine is chemically identical to powder cocaine, but the
effectsmood elevation, relief of fatigue, decrease in hunger, indifference
to pain, and sometimes euphoric feelingsare said to come on more swiftly
and profoundly, followed by a lower low when they wear off quickly.That
Leads to a desire to smoke more right away, which mightauthorities are
unclearmake it more addictive than powder.

Than there's the rare instance of cocaine interfering with the functioning
of the heart, which led to the death of basketball star Len Bias in 1986.

So if Tony Phillips really was using crack, he was playing Russian Roulette
with his own health. Crack doesn't make health problems or death
inevitable, but it certainly doesn't improve the odds of a long,healthy life.

Those problems are compounded by making cocaine illegal, which places users
into a criminal underworld, usually leads to introducing them to other,
more dangerous drugs, and makes it commonplace to "cut" the cocaine with
other substances, some of which are more dangerous than the cocaine itself.

In a sane world it would be recognized that Tony Phillips, still a fiery
and sometimes controversial competitor at 38, is an adult and responsible
for the dangers to which he chooses to submit himself. Would anyone else
have a legitimate interest in what he chooses to ingest?

Well, his family would, of course. And his employer very well might. Most
employers, justifiably enough, have policies against being drunk or stoned
on the job (although a recent compilation of the 50 greatest managers in
baseball history noted that a high proportion of them were alcoholics). And
most companies these days, like organized baseball, have strict policies
against using illicit drugs at all.

Those policies are generally justified by concern about the effect of drugs
on employee performance. But it would be difficult to discern such an
effect in the case of Tony Phillips. The Angels were playing .500 ball when
he rejoined them in May, and they're now battling for the American League
West lead. Most sports writers and other baseball gurus give Tony Phillips
a good deal of the credit for that improvement.

He is the classic, 110percent player on the field; at a recent game it
struck me, even from the upper decks, that more than any other player
(including Frank Thomas and Albert Belle) Tony Phillips at bat communicates
a sense of being about to make something happen. The socalled experts say
he is also a clubhouse leader and inspiration. He does get into trouble
with umpires, opponents and fans with his aggressive intensity. Whether
that's personality or chemistry will forever be a question in peoples's
minds now.

In a world of personal responsibility rather than prohibition, then,
cocaine use might well be against most employers' policies. But the
consequences of drug use would be unlikely to resemble Doomsday, and except
in advanced cases it would be difficult to detect. You wouldn't have to go
to sleazy motels to get the stuff and selfrighteous cops wouldn't be in
charge of deciding what constitutes responsibility.

In our world, however, Tony Phillips, who has parlayed lessthansuperstar
talent into wellaboveaverage performance that boosts his teammates in
tangible and intangible ways, through hard works intensity and fierce
competitiveness, will forever be tainted in many people's eyes, regardless
of the outcome of charges against him. His career might be ended. It's
unlikely the imageconscious Disney Co. will bring him back to the Angels
next year. And the distractions surrounding his troubles might well ruin
what had looked like the best chance the Angels had in years to win a pennant.

Are there victims of drug use per se here? Yes. But the laws compound the
problem, making Tony Phillips much more of a victim than was necessary.