DRUG POLICY REFORM WHAT'S NEEDED

Editor, The News:

Re: Small-L for longer sentences (B.C. Views, Nov. 22).

Regarding Tom Fletcher's 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 hard drugs like 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, MPA

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Arlington, VA