SCHIZOID DRUG POLICY

The Tribune reported Jan.15 on "meth moms" in drug rehabilitation who have
their children with them as they free themselves from their drug habit. You
can be certain these mothers choose rehab over imprisonment primarily to be
with their children.

In the same paper, you report on two U.S. Air Force pilots charged with
involuntary manslaughter for bombing four Canadian soldiers during war
maneuvers. Their defense lawyer claims the U.S. government encouraged the
use of so-called "go-pills" which may have distorted their judgment in
causing this incident. In fact, the U.S. military calls these pills a
"fatigue management tool" allowing soldiers working under tiring conditions
to maintain alertness.

The U.S. Government puts mothers into rehab who use meth to cope with
raising a family in today's hectic world, in which they are often the only
parent working a full-time job, managing the household, while raising
children. Wouldn't a "fatigue management tool" be useful here?

In contrast, the U.S. government encourages the use of amphetamines for
soldiers operating tanks, fighter jets and rocket launchers, often
involving civilian casualties (you know -- moms and their children).

If this doesn't trouble you, you either have a schizoid mental condition or
you're a politician relentlessly pushing drug prohibition while ignoring
the obvious contradictions in America's ludicrous drug policies.

MICHAEL A. GREENE

Salt Lake City