On Dec. 2, I opened my Pilot to the opinion page and read the editorial regarding "Burley Mitchell's Surprising Question." I read it the second time and knew that I had to respond.

The very idea of the decriminalization of drugs sends great shudders through me. I think first of the scenes I saw in the detoxification units of the hospitals in which I once worked. I think of the haunted look in the eyes of those who thought they had kicked their habit only to find that the habit was stronger then they were.

[continues 618 words]