Pubdate: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 Source: Irish Times, The (Ireland) Copyright: 2000 The Irish Times Contact: 11-15 D'Olier St, Dublin 2, Ireland Fax: + 353 1 671 9407 Website: http://www.ireland.com/ Author: Brian Hollywood Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n836/a02.html Note: Headline by MAP DRUG USERS ARE DENIED THE LEGAL PROTECTION Sir, - An uneasy feeling gripped me on reading Kevin Myers's Irishman's Diary of June 7th. This is not unusual, I hasten to add. It is a given. Always. The man annoys me. I usually avoid his self-deluding, overly obsessive diatribes in the same way that I try to sidestep "eccentrics" with conspiracy theories painted on their lunch-boards. However, the particular uneasiness I experienced last week was in acknowledging that every word he had written on the subject of drug wars and the sale of heroin was reasonable and logical. The fact that drug users are denied the legal protection afforded to other consumers is a source of shame for any nation aspiring to the basic tenets of civilisation. I agree with every word Kevin Myers said. Is there "rehab" for this affliction, do you think? - Yours, etc., Brian Hollywood, Malone Avenue Belfast 9. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk