Pubdate: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA) Copyright: 1999 San Francisco Examiner Contact: http://www.examiner.com/ Forum: http://examiner.com/cgi-bin/WebX Page: A 20 Author: Mikki Norris BUSH AND DRUG POLICY Hooray for George W. Bush for standing up for the right to privacy and the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution (against self-incrimination). Drug use, either former or current, really is nobody's business unless someone actually harms another. Bush took the moral high ground against the media's bloodlust for an answer to the questions of when and if he ever used cocaine. Now he must have the courage and strength of character to extend this self-stated right to the rest of society. Ban drug testing that discriminates and incriminates people to take away their jobs, student loans, children and housing, and excludes them from sports activities, among other serious repercussions. He must end prohibition and the drug war, and release from prison non-violent drug offenders who have engaged in similar or less serious activities than Bush may himself have done. If Bush were to fail to extend this right and courtesy to the nation at large that he insists upon for himself, then he would indeed be a low-down hypocrite and would not be worthy of holding office. Mikki Norris El Cerrito - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart