GOLDSTEIN CLASSIC PROHIBITIONIST

FROM THE sounds of his column (July 18), Lorrie Goldstein is a classic
example of a prohibitionist. He fails to see that people are just
that, people. They can make their own choices and decisions. Setting
up safe injection houses is not going to make people run out and want
to try heroin! The people who want it will get it, and those who don't
will stay away.

Goldstein parrots the party line, "What kind of message are we
sending?" The message is clear: We as a nation care about all our
citizens (not just the oh-so-righteous "drug free" ones). Would
Goldstein change his mind if someone he loved contracted a fatal
disease as a result of improperly discarded needles?

More police is always the prohibitionist's answer, but excessive
policing results in abysmal failure. Just look south of the border.
The U.S. is practically a police state, with a good number of its
citizens living in fear of being jailed for what they see as a
lifestyle choice. Let us not become like our fear-mongering
neighbours, but instead comport ourselves as the compassionate,
rational nation we claim to be.

Matt Brambilla
Toronto

(Yikes)