WHAT'S THE BUZZ ON DRUG ABUSE?

"Drugs Not as Harmless as Some Seem to Think" was the headline in the
letters section of your September 4-11 edition. I would like to take a
third point of view on this issue. As a coparent of a 10-year-old, I have
to maintain a constant vigil so she does not succumb to the prolific
"pushers" of a drug that is the root cause of many of society's woes, such
as domestic violence, road rage, and juvenile hyperactivity. That drug is
caffeine.

I find it to be sheer hypocrisy that we have a society whose judiciary and
military are addicted to this drug while dictating to the general
population what they can and cannot consume in the way of other drugs. It
is not a war on drugs but a war of drugs that creates such collateral
damage where so many good, productive citizens are incarcerated because
they chose one plant over another.

I am not condemning or condoning any drug, but if you start your day with
an upper like coffee or tea and end it with a downer like wine or beer,
then please realize that this is a part of adult human nature. But let's
keep them all away from kids!

A.R. Lapper Vancouver