Pubdate: Fri, 30 Nov 2007
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2007 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1379/a01.html
Author: Matthew M. Elrod
Note: Parenthetical remark by the Sun editor, headline by newshawk.

DRUG PROHIBITION FOSTERS CRIME

Re: Justice Minister Rob Nicholson's Wednesday letter. It is a 
popular misconception
that "illicit drugs fuel organized crime and foster petty crime." 
Some so-called
drug-related crime is aggravated by the disinhibiting effects of 
drugs. For example,
alcohol is implicated in half of all homicides. However, most illicit 
drugs are not
criminogenic. With no recourse to the law, drug gangs settle their 
disputes with
violence. Vendors of legally regulated drugs, like alcohol, tobacco 
and coffee, settle
their disputes in court. The stated intent, to fight crime, is 
laudable, but experience
and research tells us that it is drug prohibition, not drugs per se, 
that fosters
organized and petty crime.

Matthew M. Elrod

(Booze is, historically, the worst drug of all.) 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake