[Jeff Higgins]

I've seen it too, Jim. I still have a few friends that are , in my opinion, irreversibly fuched up. I have far, far more that are not. I really cannot think of anyone in my circle of friends in school that did not smoke pot. None would turn down a line, or a hit of acid, or a handfull of shrooms, or pretty much anything else for that matter, either. All are professionals with careers today; all have put that all behind them without ever having hit rock bottom before deciding to quit or cut way, way back.

Most of my friends drink. Most do so responsibly, a few do not. Some still smoke pot, but it certainly has no impact on their lives any more so than a couple of beers a week does on mine. I see the same patterns of behavior in the drinking population as the drug using population; some can keep it in perspective, some cannot.

I just don't think punishment is the answer. It has not worked, and it has ruined lives needlessly. When I look back at my circle of friends from way back when, I shudder to think where any of us would be today if we had gotten busted and now carried a criminal record. Thrown out of school, and on and on. The drugs clearly were not a problem in this crowd. The laws sure would have been. That's all I'm saying; the law is no answer to the problem. Treatment will reach those that are salvagable; no amount of punishment will reach those who are not.