MINISTER'S DRUG NAIVETY

FEDERAL Justice Minister Amanda Vanstone must be naive in the extreme
if she believes the rate of recent drug seizures in Australia is
sending shivers up the spines of drug bosses.

The reality is that drugs of all kinds are no harder, or more
expensive, to acquire now than they were several months ago. Despite
all the "biggest ever" and "record drug seizures" that Australian law
enforcement officials regularly crow about, not a bit of difference is
made to the overall availability of drugs on the streets. In the
meantime, the drug bosses build up huge profits and acquire the power
and influence that come with big money.

The corrupting effect that drug money has on societies and economies
is by far a worse problem than the drugs themselves.

The huge profits being made from the trade are sufficient to provide
some cartels with a greater income than many sovereign nations.

Indeed, the Russian Mafia recently has been in the international
spotlight because of its apparently thorough penetration of the real
estate market in parts of the south of France, where property prices
have been skyrocketing as criminal elements pay more than top dollar
for properties as part of a money-laundering scheme, thereby forcing
honest buyers out of the market.

Much more of this sort of behaviour can be expected.

International law enforcement experts already are warning about the
steady acquisition by cashed up criminal syndicates of increasingly
large stakes in legitimate businesses and corporations -- many of them
household names!

The corrupting effects of these acquisitions on society and the
economy generally can be imagined.

So long as drug use is prohibited but a strong demand continues to
exist, there will always be illegal suppliers making fat profits.

SENSELESS

Prohibition is a senseless and ultimately socially destructive way of
dealing with the drug problem.

Cracking gown on drugs, even mild ones such as marijuana, will serve
only to further strengthen and enrich the crime syndicates that
service users, hugely increase the corruption of our public and
private institutions and breed a growing contempt and disregard for
the law.

Only the most draconian laws, that no liberal society such as
Australia's possibly could countenance might have any effect on the
scale of the illegal drug trade. Even then, nations with such laws in
place -- such as China and Iran 97 continue to face increasing drug
problems.

The only proper and effective response to the problem is to legalise
all drugs -- hard and soft 97 and let users have access to them,
certainly the hard ones, through regulated outlets such as pharmacies
and community injection centres where the prices are kept affordable
and where counselling is available, if requested, to wean users off
their substance.

Such a response would ensure drug-taking is done in a hygienic and
controlled environment, as well as ensuring that users are not forced
into a life of crime to finance their habits.