STRAW MAN ARGUMENT

I hope I'm not the only one who would expect less hyperbole and more
factual discussion from the spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of
Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control. Mark Woodward ( Your Views,
June 30 ) begins by claiming that legalizing certain drugs would lead
to black market production. If drugs were legal to buy, this would
cause companies to produce and sell them, putting street dealers and
producers out of business. There is a reason Woodward doesn't see
reports of illegal alcohol operations being busted on the local
news. For that reason, he doesn't see people producing morphine or
Tylenol in their bathtubs.

He confuses legal, responsible use with dangerous use. Perhaps if he
equated "bad" drugs with alcohol, one of the hundreds of drugs that
are perfectly legal for adults to use responsibly, he would better
understand the issue. No one wants children to be able to use these
drugs. Certainly no one is arguing for anyone to endanger other
people's lives while under the influence. Woodward has simply
created a straw man to avoid talking about the facts. Either that or
he really believes in what he's saying. I'm not sure which one is
more disheartening.

Bryce Jones

Moore