LEGISLATORS GRANDSTAND ON METH

The Legislature's dramatic rush to require prescriptions for cold remedies
is being portrayed as a bold step to end methamphetamine use. Memo to
legislators: Everyone hates meth. Courage in politics is taking on an
unpopular cause. What you are doing is last-minute pandering to cover the
fundamental failures of this session.

Overlooked are the nearly 100,000 Oregonians who have, in the past few
years, lost their Oregon Health Plan coverage because of the Legislature's
astonishing inability to grapple with a real, controversial issue.

To add insult to injury, these powerless people will now be denied the
ability to purchase a simple cold remedy because they have no access to a
physician to write the prescription. This gesture has little to do with
drug abuse and everything to do with grandstanding.

MICHAEL T. BAILEY

Northeast Portland