Pubdate: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Copyright: 2011 Steve Bankhead Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1 Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388 Author: Steve Bankhead Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n259/a05.html ERODING FREEDOM I appreciated Debra J. Saunders' April 19 column "The war on users of cold, allergy drugs" describing how efforts to control meth with restrictions on sales of medications containing pseudoephedrine have only resulted in increased inconvenience and expense for legitimate consumers as the meth labs continue churning out their poison. I encounter a similarly irritating restriction purchasing spray paints. I could once leisurely browse through cans at the hardware store, comparing price, drying times and temperature tolerances before deciding which one to purchase. Now I must take the time to call a clerk over to unlock the cabinet and force him or her to wait while I decide which can to select. And as I nervously hurry through the various cans, I have the nagging thought that this inconvenience and consumption of time has had the same success at controlling tagging in our communities as the pseudoephedrine controls have had on meth labs. Both are simply more restrictions on our freedom that primarily put limits on the law-abiding. Steve Bankhead, Watsonville - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake