CUT OFF DEMAND TO STOP THE FLOW

Reporter Editor:

A letter writer (Reporter, March 27) advocates the death penalty for
drug dealers, due to the deaths of people who buy drugs.

I wonder if he thinks we should ban alcohol and tobacco, then start
executing tobacco farmers and alcohol merchants. After all, the
products they produce kill hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The fact is that people who buy tobacco and alcohol are expected to
know the risks involved, therefore the transactions are allowed.
People who buy drugs know the risks, too.

Executing dealers for a second offense will not stop drug dealing, as
long as there is a demand for drugs. They can deal until the first
conviction and someone else can take their place.

Prohibition has never worked and never will. Only a public health
approach will reduce the harm associated with drugs.

Phin MacDonald, Medford, Mass.