'GATEWAY' ARGUMENT NOT JUSTIFIED

In response to Don Gulliford's letter ["A gateway drug," Northwest
Voices, Feb. 23], it is obvious he did not do any professional
consultation in this field. He is so far from such consultation being
in a nanny panic about "the gateway" aspect.

His statement is merely opinion. Opinion requires no understanding or
accountability. What needs to be accounted for in his opinion of
"teens babbling gibberish" is that his control group in his study is
merely kids in juvenile court. That is about .001 percent of the population.

He wondered what their first drug was? A loaded question because
alcohol and cigarettes are not part of answer choice. Nor is
conceptual gateways for kids of riding your bike fast or spinning
around and getting dizzy. Nor was a kid breaking into a car and trying
to boost stolen goods. If you are in the illegal market, you'll be
surprised what you come across.

So Don, I cannot give your self proclaimed "professional" observations
any merit in regards to gateway status, which has been well disproved
by many higher institutions.

- - Douglas Mays, Seattle