Pubdate: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 Date: 08/30/1999 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Author: Eric Spencer Lee Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n903.a06.html Bravo to Scheer for exposing the hypocrisy of American drug laws. Before Bush, any question about drugs was just an opportunity for the Republicans to demagogue. Anyone who suggested the current drug laws are not working was tarred with the "soft on crime" or the "you want kids to have access to drugs?" brush. Now that a Republican stands accused maybe we can get down to the important questions of what it is we're trying to accomplish with drug laws and whether we're succeeding. To my mind, drug laws only benefit criminals and those (the alcohol and tobacco industries) that don't want the competition. I wonder if they've been paying the Republicans all this time to make sure drugs stay illegal? Eric Spencer Lee Pasadena