LEGALIZE DRUGS, ALL OF THEM

It's The Only Way We're Going To Win The War

As I listened to the witness describe how the stabbing victim staggered
from the store, I glanced down at the sidewalk and discovered I was
standing on droplets of his blood. When I looked up again, my eyes met the
pained expression of the victim's teenage son. His father - Dartmouth
shopkeeper Albert Nasrallah - was murdered just minutes before.

It was shortly after 3 p.m. on June 9, 1997. Myles Layton Smith, 26, was
arrested the next day, shortly after police discovered the body of his
girlfriend, 27-year-old Deanna Clayton. The self-described "chronic
crack-cocaine user," will face two second-degree murder and two robbery
charges this fall.

Nasrallah's murder was my first up-close look at violent, drug-related
crime. The memory was prompted by a recent letter to The Daily News from
Layton Dean, who wants to see marijuana legalized.

I've never attended the Canada Day cannabis rally Dean has organized the
past two years. Being surrounded by a large group of pot smokers isn't my
scene. Nor do their arguments about culture and freedom attract my support.
But I absolutely detest hypocrisy and I find there's a sizable chunk of it
in this issue.

Imagine a set of scales. On one side is marijuana, on the other is a
mood-altering substance called alcohol. Every ill of the first can be
equalled by the second, with more harmful results. Throw tobacco into the
picture and Mary Jane comes out looking relatively harmless.

Those who say alcohol is OK, but marijuana is not, haven't had the
privilege of knowing an alcoholic. And if you argue two wrongs don't make a
right, then you're saying alcohol is wrong. Why then isn't it outlawed?
Because prohibition creates uncontrollable criminal activity. It's better
to control the substance, and put the money in the public coffers, than to
fight an unwinnable battle.

Applying the same philosophy to cannabis may be logical and less
hypocritical, but it won't do much to eliminate violent drug-related
crimes, because these come from more addictive substances like crack
cocaine.

Although Dean's letter planted the seed for this column, I'd like to take
his concept one huge leap forward - let's legalize all drugs. Marijuana
could be available in liquor stores, while hard drugs could be obtained
through clinics.

The former becomes a money-maker like beer, wine and liquor, while the
latter would require some public funding.

Would we resent handing over money to the dregs of society so they can feed
their repugnant habit? Darned right we would. But let's not be naive: we're
already paying with our lives, our belongings and our taxes.

Taking control of drugs would be a rather unpleasant task, with a mountain
of logistical problems, but it would be a far sight cheaper than the
current Band Aid solution - policing, prosecuting and imprisoning.

It would also strike a lethal blow to the drug industry's most vital organ
- - money. And more importantly, fewer reporters and police would have to
look into the grief-stricken eyes of the wives and children of the victims.

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.