To the editor: While I am pleased for Nancy Radcliffe the penny has
finally dropped, if only part way (Legalize Drugs, All of Them, April
26), I am disappointed the residue of three generations of
state-sponsored anti-drug propaganda still lingers in her psyche.

Was there ever a more shameless admission of bigotry and hatred
published in recent times by a major Canadian newspaper than Ms.
Radcliffe's statement, "I don't have an ounce of compassion for drug
addicts. I'm just tired of watching innocent people pay for their
problem. Let's stop trying to save addicts from themselves and start
thinking about how we can save ourselves from them."

Even a cursory examination of our current drugs fiasco will tell you
it is the prohibition of certain drugs that causes the crime, not the
drugs themselves.

When was the last time you heard of a robbery being perpetrated "to
finance an alcohol habit"?

Alan Randell
Victoria, B.C.

Via the Internet