THE WAR ON DRUGS HAS FAILED

In Canada, alcohol kills 15,000 Canadians each year, and tobacco
products cause 45,000 deaths per year - a drug which is in every
convenience store in Canada. And then, of course, there is marijuana,
which has never been recorded as causing a death.

So I ask you, why is there a war on - illicit - drugs?

To say that a glass of wine in no way compares to heroin is only
ignorance. Alcohol and heroin are actually in the same class of drugs
- - depressants of the central nervous system. Canadian youth die from
alcohol-related tragedy more so than illicit drugs.

What really is absurd is that the 3,500 Canadians born each year with
fetal alcohol effect / syndrome is preventable if we called alcohol
the drug it is. This is really a national disgrace.

Legalization - not commercialization - education and treatment are the
only solutions that will work. Strict legal control of all drugs,
including alcohol and tobacco, will save more lives than this
so-called war on drugs. One clear policy for all drugs. A policy based
on truths and democracy, not lies, myths or propaganda.

Kevin Allan
North Vancouver, B.C.