Pubdate: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 Source: Amarillo Globe-News (TX) Copyright: 2002 Amarillo Globe-News Contact: http://amarillonet.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/13 Author: Stephen Heath DRUG USE, ABUSE ISSUES NEED A PUBLIC FORUM Thank you for the balanced ideas and opinions offered in your newspaper regarding the very important topic of drugs, their use and their abuse. As someone who tracks drug policy news and opinion in newspapers across the country, I can tell you that the Amarillo Globe-News gives more attention to this topic than any other newspaper in Texas, when size comparisons are taken into account. The fact is that more than 88 percent of Americans will use one or more drugs this month, both legal and illegal. Some of your local writers obviously recognize how foolish it would be, therefore, to set a target for a "drug-free America." Rather, the intelligent and compassionate way to address these issues is with an approach of better and more accurate education regarding both the uses and abuses of all drugs. In many ways, West Texas is still isolated from the rest of the world. But as Europe, Canada and a majority (population-wise) of the United States continue to institute more commonsense approaches to drug policy, the effects will be felt even in Amarillo and the rest of the Texas Panhandle. Maintaining diverse discussion in your newspaper is a key to helping these inevitable changes take place in a way that will most benefit all concerned. Stephen Heath Public Relations Director Drug Policy Forum of Florida Clearwater, Fla. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth