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- LETTERS, Page 8Civil Rights and Drugs
-
-
- President Bush's antidrug strategy may jeopardize the
- constitutional rights of citizens (NATION, Sept. 18). It is perhaps
- noble that many are willing to give up freedoms to stop illegal
- drugs. People seem to assume that less personal freedom equals less
- drug abuse. There has been a strong emphasis on combating drug
- usage inside federal prisons for a long time. Everyone is subjected
- to frequent quarters searches, pat-downs, urine analyses, and strip
- searches after visits. These measures appear to me to be largely
- ineffective. If the Government cannot stop people from using drugs
- in a few fenced-off acres over which it has total control, why
- should Americans forfeit any of their traditional civil rights in
- the hope of reducing the drug problem?
-
- Dane Cockrell, Inmate No. 14949-080
- Federal Correctional Institution
- El Reno, Okla.