Pubdate: Wed, 08 Jun 2005
Source: Saanich News (CN BC)
Contact:  http://www.saanichnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1209
Author: Arthur Ooms

LEGALIZATION NO ANSWER

In your "Letters" section (Saanich News, May 11), you printed a letter 
written by Alan Randell of Saanich titled "Eliminate the need for meth."

I disagree strongly with the writer on the following:

1. In his opening remarks, Mr. Randell asserts that a number of people 
appear to be lying about the adverse effects of other illegal drugs.

This statement is absurd! If this were true, how is it that studies of drug 
consumption all over the world have resulted in the same findings: hopeless 
addiction, escalating crime and corruption including murder, abstract 
poverty, and in many cases death of the user.

2. His suggestion that to legalize hard and soft drugs would benefit 
society as a whole, by reducing the costs of healthcare and policing as 
well as the monetary cost of the substances, is equally half-baked.

Various approaches to curb illicit drug use were tried in The Netherlands 
for several years in the 1970s, including a more liberated approach to 
procurement and use.

Aside from being able to estimate the number of actual drug users (their 
numbers appearing to escalate daily while this program was in effect), 
studies concluded with essentially the same results: increased addiction 
when drugs were made available at lower costs, increased crime and poverty, 
a health system becoming overwhelmed in coping with chronic drug users 
coupled with tremendous costs to society.

There were no "benefits." This "experiment" was a dismal failure!

I find Mr. Randell's reasoning regarding proliferation and use of these 
harmful substances difficult to understand. I believe a more aggressive 
approach to educating society on the harmful effects of drug use is needed.

Also, drug importation and its production at home needs to be dealt with 
much more aggressively.

Legalizing use and/or production is not the answer.

Arthur Ooms, Saanich
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom