Pubdate: Mon, 06 Sep 2004 Source: National Post (Canada) Copyright: 2004 Southam Inc. Contact: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286 Author: Robert Sharpe http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1245/a04.html CRACKING DOWN ON DRUGS Re: Safe Crack Kits Promote Drug Use, Sept. 2. Does Stuart Murray of the Progressive Conservative party truly believe that non-drug users are going to start smoking crack if safe crack kits to prevent the spread of HIV become available? There is no need to emulate the U.S. policy of maximizing harm. It won't impact rates of use. New York City chose the zero tolerance approach during the crack epidemic of the Eighties. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Barry was smoking crack and America's capital had the highest per capita murder rate in the country. Yet crack use declined in both cities simultaneously. The decline was not due to zero tolerance or the passage of mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Simply put, the younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing to their older brothers and sisters and decided that crack was bad news. This is not to say that nothing can be done. Access to drug treatment is critical for the current generation of crack users. In order to protect future generations, Canadian policymakers need to break with the U.S. government's reefer madness and tax and regulate marijuana. As long as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized crime, consumers will continue to come into contact with hard drugs like crack. This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake