ARGUMENT ON DRUG USE MISLEADING

MR MICHAEL BOOTH'S article (CT, 10 November, p.7) states that, for the
overwhelming majority, their drug use, illegal or legal, will remain a
relatively harmless activity with few adverse consequences and perhaps
even some desired benefit.

A very slick statement, but to bracket legal and illegal drugs to try
to prove a point is usually grossly misleading. For example, the bulk
of the adult community consume alcohol responsibly with few or no
adverse consequences but they greatly outnumber illicit drug users,
who do suffer greatly.

The fact that a majority can consume a certain legal social drug or
prescription without harm is certainly no reason to abolish
prohibiting laws applying to illegal drugs that cause death and trauma.

Society has found it essential to have prohibiting laws on the major
legal drugs tobacco and alcohol in that there are restrictive
licensing hours et cetera, and they cannot be sold to under-age
persons etc.

So let's recognise that society's prohibiting laws protect about 99
per cent of the population from the ravages and injury caused by
illicit drugs and remember always that illicit drugs are not dangerous
because they are prohibited; they are prohibited because they are dangerous.

COLLIS PARRETT
Convener
Make Illicit Drugs
Socially Unacceptable
Bruce

Checked-by: Patrick Henry