Pubdate: Fri, 08 Aug 2014
Source: Daily Press, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 Sun Media
Contact: http://www.timminspress.com/letters
Website: http://www.timminspress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1001
Author: Robert Sharpe
Page: A4
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n615/a05.html
Cited: http://www.bmj.com/content/327/7410/310.full

MARIJUANA PROHIBITION IS DEADLY

The following letter is in response to John Robson's July 24
column.

There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket
legalization.

Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce
disease, death and crime among chronic users by providing them with
standardized doses in a clinical setting. e successful Swiss program
has inspired heroin maintenance pilot projects in Canada, Germany,
Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands.

If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized
crime of a core client base. is would render illegal heroin
trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations addiction.
Marijuana should be taxed and regulated like alcohol, only without the
advertising.

Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as
organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers of the most
popular illicit drug (marijuana) will continue to come into contact
with sellers of hard drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.
This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Marijuana
may be relatively harmless, but marijuana prohibition is deadly.

For information on the efficacy of heroin maintenance please read the
following British Medical Journal report: 
bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/327/7410/310
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MAP posted-by: Matt