Pubdate: Wed, 16 Aug 2000 Date: 08/16/2000 Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Author: Mark Gabrish Conlan Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1145/a04.html Re: "Seeing criminal addicts through middle-class eyes" (Opinion, Aug. 10): I was taken aback by Jim and Ed Gogek's logic. They evidently have decided that there are at least two classes of drug users: the middle-and upper-class professionals who are able to control their use, and the so-called "criminal addicts," who are a virtual different species. It never seems to have occurred to the Gogeks that the difference may simply be that middle-and upper-class drug users are affluent enough to be able to pay for drugs, while lower-class users can't pay for them without resorting to criminal behavior. More and more, I think the model for a solution to the drug problem lies in the approach we've slowly evolved regarding tobacco: Allow the product to be sold legally, put a heavy tax on it and use the tax money to pay for the genuine social harm caused, including costs of treatment for addicts as well as the greater health-care costs they will incur through the physical damage of long-term use. Mark Gabrish Conlan, San Diego