fail to open /dev/dri:operation not permitted

[Mark Whaite <mjwhaite@attbi.com>]

I am running into a few problems with X.  As root I have find 
preformance with open gl,  glxinfo reports:
direct rendering: Yes

as a user I get:
libGL error: failed to open DRM: Operation not permitted
libGL error: reverting to (slow) indirect rendering

I did a few searches on the internet (including this list) and found 
references that I should look for a README.dri file somewhere in the 
/usr/share/doc/xserver-xfree86/ directory.  Since that file does not 
seem to exist on my sarge install I am a bit on the bothered side.  Any 
input would be appreciated.
Mark Whaite