Dear Viewpoints,

I hope a small but important article in the Chronicle will help to
shatter one of the myths that support our current foolish drug policies.
Most addicts, with their drug, are quite capable of reasonably normal work
and behavior.

Samir Krilic describes addicts in Portugal who "worked from dawn to
dusk" in the construction industry for three daily doses of heroin or cocaine
instead of pay. This resembles what a diabetic does who must inject insulin
daily.

Consumer Reports, in the excellent "Licit & Illicit Drugs," points out that
addicts are generally indistinguishable from non-users. After several
hundred pages of scientific review, they argue that an alcohol addiction
is more harmful. They conclude, "Almost all the deleterious effects
ordinarily attributed to the opiates, indeed, appear to be the effects of
the narcotics laws instead."

If the handful of addicts - the number has been constant at about 3 million
for 20 years or more - were allowed to register as addicts and get their
drugs through clinics, the drug lords would disappear. Children would
have reduced access to drugs. Prospective new users would find supplies
scarce, and would come in contact with a doctor who wanted to nip the slide
toward addiction in the bud instead of a dealer who promotes addiction. The
taxpayer would be protected from crime, and would benefit from addict's labor
instead of wasting 40 billion dollars a year to try and change them. In a
climate of medical support, the addicts would be better placed to change
themselves.

Thank you for such articles. It would be wonderful if you had a section
like "Discovery" to explore them in depth.

Jerry Epstein