CRIME AND DRUGS GO HAND IN HAND

Editor, The News;

In the Feb. 28 issue of your paper, letter writer Gilbert
Currie-Johnson asserts we can reduce crime by stopping the
prohibition of drugs.

Crime, violence and drug use go hand in hand.Six times as many
homicides are committed by people under the influence of drugs, as
those who are looking for money to buy drugs. Most drug crimes aren't
committed by people trying to pay for drugs, they're committed by
people on drugs.

Only about five per cent of inmates in federal prison are there
because of simple possession. Most drug criminals are in jail, even
on possession charges, because they have plea-bargained down from
major trafficking offences or more violent crimes.

Apologists say dollars are wasted in anti-drug efforts, but for those
kids saved from drug addiction this is hardly wasted money.

Our fight against drug abuse and addiction is an ongoing struggle
that should be treated like any other social problem. Would we give
up on education or poverty simply because we haven't eliminated all problems?

Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction - whether in
taxpayer dollars or in pain and suffering - government spending on
drug control is minimal.

The legalization lobby claims drugs are no more dangerous than
alcohol. But drunk driving is one of the primary killers of North
Americans. Do we want our bus drivers, nurses and airline pilots to
be able to take drugs one evening and operate freely at work the next day?

Do we want to add to the destruction by making drugged driving
another primary killer?

Who should we believe about the danger of drugs? Researchers who are
concerned about the health of a nation, or users who feel that they
have something to gain by the legalization of drugs?

I would side with the researchers who are looking after our health.

Eric Myrholm

Abbotsford