AMERICA AND DRUGS

Regarding "Assisted Suicide in Oregon Faces Federal Intervention" (Nov. 20):

It is in keeping with his agency's record that the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration chief, Thomas Constantine, issued a,dire warning to doctors
who help terminally ill patients commit suicide. His agency, which
regulates the distribution of pain medication, is responsible for many of
these suicides in the first place.

The drug agency's hypocritical policy first denies adequate pain relief and
then seeks to deny even death as an escape for sufferers. This is a cruel,
inhumane way to treat people.

The amount of narcotics a person in pain might require is none of the
government's business. It is also none of the government's business how
people choose to end their lives. It's time to get Big Brother out of the
doctor's office and away from the dying.

REDFORD GIVENS, San Francisco.