SHOOTING GALLERIES WON'T THWART BLACK MARKET

The recently proposed safe injection rooms in the Plateau Mont Royal area
would be a step in the right direction, but they would do nothing to
undermine the thriving black market or protect future generations from
addiction.

Because heroin is sold via an unregulated market, its quality and purity
fluctuate tremendously. An addict accustomed to low-quality heroin who
unknowingly uses almost pure heroin will likely overdose.

As far as crime is concerned, addicts would not be prostituting themselves
or committing crimes if not for artificially inflated black-market prices.
Contrary to what drug warriors would have the public believe, there is a
middle ground between all-out legalization and drug prohibition.

The Swiss government's controversial heroin maintenance trials are showing
promise. The trials, modeled on methadone maintenance programs, have been
shown to reduce drug use and related crime, death and disease among chronic
heroin users.

By registering Canada's heroin addicts and providing them with standardized
doses in a treatment setting, the public health problems associated with
heroin could very well be eliminated. More importantly, organized crime
would lose its client base.

This would render heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future
generations from addiction. Drug policies require a harm-reduction approach
that minimizes the negative consequences of both drug use and drug laws.

Robert Sharpe

Program Officer

The Lindesmith Centre-Drug Policy Foundation

Washington, D.C.