FRONT PAGE DISPLAYS IRONY OF JAILING ADDICTS

I was struck with a certain sense of irony to see the Star-Bulletin's
front-page photo on Sept. 15 headlined "No taxation without representation," a
fundamental principle upon which our Founding Fathers established America.

I hope the delegates to this week's drug summit keep in mind that when dealing
with an epidemic, health issues should take precedence over legal matters, and
that locking up every ice user doesn't cure the underlying problem -- it merely
compounds it. An arrest record makes finding a job, raising a family and
continuing an education virtually impossible. There may be "no hope in dope,"
but what else is there for an ex-con? Continuing crime. Thank god we don't
throw our cigarette addicts in jail.

So why the irony? A felon, who has no vote, is taxed every day without
representation. Is this what we want for our sons and daughters?

Steven Spencer

Honolulu