IT'S NOT WORKING

How many more heroin-related deaths will it take before people wake up
and realize that the approach we are taking is not working?

No one should ever die from using heroin. The Swiss have been
prescribing heroin to addicts for years, and there have been no
overdose deaths. The addicts are not stealing to support their habits.
They are not enticing others to use the drug so that they can support
their habit by selling to them. The spiral has ended.

Instead of dealing with this as a medical problem, we rely on law
enforcement. This is a very costly method and will never produce the
desired results. Each time a dealer is arrested and convicted, the
taxpayers will spend around $250,000. That is what it costs for the
police investigation, the trial, a public attorney to represent the
defendant, and incarceration.

In the meantime, another dealer has taken his place, and life goes on
unimpeded in the illegal drug distribution network.

This $250,000 that we are spending on each drug dealer could be better
spent treating those with addiction problems. The money could be used
for a combination of heroin maintenance for those who can't quit and
abstinence-based treatment for those who are ready to quit. This has
been proven to work.

Alan Bryan, Drug Policy Forum of Texas Dallas

Checked-by: Patrick Henry