JAIL IS NO ADDICTION FIX

On the bright side, I could be addicted to something a lot more
sinister.

Like crack. Yeah, if I was addicted to crack I'd feel a lot worse
about myself than I do regarding my current compulsion.

My addiction du jour, while mildly disturbing, seems relatively
innocent in the grand scheme of self-destructive habits. But I'm still
a little worried that it might lead to more intense, even dangerous,
experimentation.

I'm in love with the scent of my leather watch. Especially when I take
it off after a long bike ride or grueling tennis match, when all of my
sweat has drenched the wristband.

No matter how pungent the damp leather wristband gets, I can't get
enough of inhaling it over and over again. Whether watching TV,
reading a book or typing this column, I can't resist the urge to take
my watch off and shove it three inches up my nose.

"I thought you liked smelling your watch when you took it off," my
friend said the other day. "I didn't know you took your watch off so
you can smell it -- there's a big difference."

He was right, which made me nervous. I get scared thinking about how
my harmless watch sniffing might lead to some muscle daddy burying my
nose into the armpits of his sleeveless leather vest.

I know firsthand that addiction is nothing to joke around about. Both
of my parents were drug addicts. One of them still is, the other one
sober only in death.

Drug addiction is a horrible and unfortunate thing to experience, and
sadly many more gay men are beginning to experience it with crystal
meth. Tina continues to invade gay culture with astonishing speed.

There is widespread concern among public health officials that crystal
meth's inhibition-destroying powers are leading to increases in
sexually reckless behavior among gay men, which is leading to more
cases of HIV and other STDs.

That's very disturbing, but more disturbing is the idea that the
solution to the crystal epidemic comes from incarcerating people who
are battling a drug habit.

As if they haven't picked enough losing battles already, some gay
leaders are signaling they're ready to jump aboard the "War on Drugs"
to save gay men from Tina.

There are few example of America's ineptitude more obvious than the
"War on Drugs," which is also a prime example of our nation's
lingering racism, incompetent media and the gullibility of our
citizens to be frightened into accepting a police state.

For almost three decades, we've spent billions each year, building
thousands of new prisons -- all of which are disproportionately
occupied by black inmates -- in a supposed attempt to get drugs off
our streets. Meanwhile, drugs are more available than ever, and the
media continues to give government officials a pass on their idiotic
and ineffective policies.

Drug warriors continue to beat the prison drum, convincing worried
citizens that their neighborhoods will be safe once a few hundred more
drug dealers and users are behind bars. Like marijuana in the '20s and
'30s, heroine in the '40s and '50s, LSD in the '60s and '70s, and
cocaine and crack in the '80s and '90s, crystal meth has climbed to
the top of the "Killer Drug" list today.

We tried solving past drug problems with punishment instead of
compassion. For the sake of many gay men, including some of my
friends, I hope that we don't continue going down that dead end road.?

[... non drug-related sections, snipped ...]