Dear X-Press,

I am writing about on issue which I'm sure most of your readers will
agree on and that is the legalisation of drugs.

I am not on addict or a person who values drugs but a person who is
concerned about our current policy on drugs. The drugs which I will
further talk about are 'hard' drugs such as cocaine, heroine, speed
and other hallucinogens i.e. ecstasy.

By legalising drugs, we as a country, will immediately reduce crime by
an enormous amount. The cost of every true drug deal falls upon the
public. Muggings, cars broken into, houses burgled - if you have
suffered, the odds are that the goods you lost were used to pay for
drugs.

At the moment an ounce of cocaine can fetch up to $2000 on the street
whereas it can be made in hospitals (or other controlled areas) for as
little as $2-4. By going into hospitals addicts can then enter some
sort of rehabilitation programme.

It is important to acknowledge that the reason we have so many addicts
today is because 'pushers' are doing their jobs so well; pushing drugs
on to people who otherwise would not likely use them. They glamorise
drugs, give them away for free, show people a good time and so hook a
significant percentage of their customers. Without financial
incentives, pushers will be a thing of the past.

Justin
Southlake