ADDICT NOT AMUSED

Congratulations on publishing the thoughts of Don McMillan, (Letters,
Aug. 24) who has discovered within his overactive mind the way to
deal with crime: "... Give all the dopies all the dope they want,"
for, in his imagination, "Hopefully most of them will overdose." I'll
be glued to these pages watching for other such thoughts your editors
think funny. I've been an addict for 34 years and I have seen what
happens when death releases addicts. Medicalization of addiction with
doctor-monitored maintenance would have saved every one. They
wouldn't have overdosed. It's the drug war that causes deaths with
its unknown concentrations and adulterants. Yeah, overdose, funny.
Most of us are people with jobs, families, all of it -- and I am
tired of hearing and reading this nonsense.

D.H. Michon

(For another view on the issue, read on.)