Section one of the April 3 edition of The Advocate was dominated by stories about the terrible epidemic of murder and other criminal activity causing great distress in New Orleans.

All these problems could be eliminated with one stroke of the government's pen. Decriminalize the use and sale of drugs.

Because these drugs are illegal, their price is very, very high. Nevertheless, many people are willing to risk long jail sentences, murder people, or be killed themselves trying to get the drugs for their own use or to sell at huge profits.

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Despite all the hype about safe-injection sites in downtown Vancouver and all the mind-numbing chatter about mind-altering drugs, the Lower Mainland seems to be having little success in battling drug use.

Just ask Andrea, 19, of Coquitlam, who last summer kicked a heroin and cocaine habit (which she financed through robbery and other crime).

"It is getting worse, I admit that," she said. "But I think it's because a lot of youth want to fit in with other people." Peer pressure, in other words.

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