'TO YOUR HEALTH' (IN MODERATION!)

To the Editor:

The theme of "The Case for Drinking (All Together Now: In Moderation!)"
(Dec. 31) is that with alcohol, as with any drug, dose determines result.

Because alcohol is also used compulsively by many, the article invites an
examination of our drug policy, which insists that since any use of
arbitrarily designated "drugs of abuse" inevitably leads to addiction, all
use must remain illegal.

The dirty little secret is that most people who have tried illegal drugs
didn't become addicts or even heavy users. Those who did usually solved the
problem on their own or with a modicum of professional help. The hopeless
junkie, like the skid row bum, represents the extreme end of a very broad
spectrum.

Perhaps there would be fewer of each if our policies were more in tune with
reality. It's not drugs that are so dangerous; it's how society insists
they be used.

Dr. Tom O'Connell

San Mateo, Calif.