LEGALIZE DRUGS

Dear Editor,

Regarding Tom Fletcher's Nov. 23 Column, There Is a Middle Ground
Between Drug Prohibition and Blanket Legalization.

Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce
disease, death and crime among chronic users. Providing addicts with
standardized doses in a clinical setting eliminates many of the
problems associated with heroin use.

Heroin maintenance pilot projects are underway in Canada, England,
Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin
maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This
would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future
generations addiction.

Marijuana should be taxed and regulated like alcohol, only without
the ubiquitous advertising. Separating the hard and soft drug markets
is critical.

As long as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized
crime, consumers of the most popular illicit drug will continue to
come into contact with sellers of cocaine. Given that marijuana is
arguably safer than legal alcohol, it makes no sense to waste scarce
resources on failed drug policies that finance organized crime and
facilitate the use of hard drugs.

Drug policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I like
to think the children are more important than the message.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy