DRUGS: THE EMPHASIS SHOULD BE CHANGED

THE COMMUNITY'S condolences go out to Neil Lade ("Rhetoric won't halt
deaths", CT, 15 August, p.9) at the loss of his daughter. With such
losses, whether from alcohol-caused road crashes or illicit drugs, the
pain is the same. Perhaps the biggest tragedy is that there will be
more, despite what governments may or may not do. I'm certain nearly
everyone agrees that what we are doing is not working. But I'm equally
as certain that neither Mr Lade nor anyone else would want to see
measures introduced, e.g. shooting galleries, that would directly or
indirectly influence other young people, either early or finally, to
end their lives tragically. Unfortunately, Mr Lade's view that current
polices are based on law enforcement and zero tolerance is not
correct. The national policy is harm minimisation, and Mr Lade and
others could be forgiven for thinking there has been more harm than
minimisation. I cry along with many others for the community to get
angry and demand a 180-degree change in emphasis to compassionate
prevention (not law enforcement per se) instead of it being as it is
now - an unused parachute on a doomed drugs-policy plane.

COL PARRETT
Kingston