A WASTEFUL WAR ON DRUGS

Re: The Cost of Getting High, Tony Clement, March 6.

What a waste for the federal government to spend $63.8-million in for
a National Anti-Drug Strategy? We may as well flush it down the
nearest toilet. What exactly is in this "strategy" that has not been
tried already and failed miserably? As Health Minister Tony Clement
should be well aware, the health and material costs to society from
alcohol and tobacco far outweigh all other illegal drugs combined.

This column is a perfect example of government scare tactics,
misinformation and abuse of taxpayers' money. Contrary to the
Minister's suggestion that drug use is "a decision to put at risk the
opportunity to build the happy, prosperous life that Canada can offer
them," I counter that no person is guaranteed anything in this life
but death and taxes, and suggesting that experimenting with drugs
leads to a life of misery goes against the life experiences of
countless successful individuals.

Just ask Andre Boisclair how his cocaine use prevented him from
becoming the leader of the PQ, or if Bill Clinton had a hard time
becoming Commander-in-Chief because he "didn't inhale." This
misguided attempt to control illicit drug use is nothing more than
the 21st-century version of Reefer Madness, and it reflects poorly on
the so-called "brains" behind the Conservative Party of Canada.

Dr. Victor Daveikis, Waterloo, Ont.