POLICE, DRUGS, AND DANGER

Re: Stripping away basic rights (editorial - Nov 7)

Your editorial was eloquent and timely.

The "right" of the police to make intimate searches is being sorely strained.

The rationale for such searches, of course, is that the police may have
"strong grounds to believe that someone is carrying drugs or concealing a
weapon."

To address these two points: it is reasonable that any suspect might be
searched (i.e., patted down) for hidden weapons, but how can a probe of
body cavities possibly be justified?

Surely any weapons that could hurt a well-armed police officer could only
be concealed at the greatest risk in a body cavity.

What's the supposed felon likely to conceal in such a place - a kitchen
knife, perhaps?

I don't think so.

In the case of drugs, a probing might be justified only as long as our
society remains obsessed with the "danger" of hard drugs - substances that
probably do not harm or kill as many people as do alcohol or tobacco.

If we were to legalize all drugs, crime rates would tumble: biker gangs
could go back to recreational motorcycling, organized crime rings could
concentrate on prostitution and computer hacking, and fewer elderly people
would be mugged to provide itinerant dope addicts with their daily fixes.

Legal drugs could be produced (with attendant job-creation opportunities)
in sterile conditions, and sold in liquor stores, adding greatly to
government tax revenues.

In summary, junkies would be happy, crime would diminish taxpayers would
benefit, and the police wouldn't have to get their hands dirty.

Dave Ashby, Peterborough, Ont.