Pubdate: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 Source: Oregonian, The (OR) Copyright: 2001 The Oregonian Contact: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324 Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/ Author: Kirk Muse Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1188/a01.html JUMP DRUG-POLICY HURDLE Thank you for publishing Robert Landauer's outstanding column, "DRUG POLICY HURDLE SET TOO HIGH" (July 3). It seems that a policy of punishing someone for using a substance that can harm only the user is counterproductive and wrong. However, if you are going to punish someone for possession of marijuana, why not tobacco? The annual kill ratio of tobacco vs. marijuana is more than 400,000 to zero. Tobacco is an illegal drug for children. So why are children not arrested and denied financial aid for using tobacco? Kirk Muse, Vancouver, Wash. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek