Letters to the Editor

PM'S WAR ON DRUGS ALREADY DOOMED

John Howard has asked for 3 years before we judge his get tough on drugs
policies. Why not look at world figures today? Why wait 3 years?

The USA has a real gettoughondrugs policy, and their budget for the war
on drugs this year is $16 billion. Our $87.5 million seems puny even as an
add on.

What has the USA achieved with their $16 billion? It had locked up 1.6
million of its population by 30th June, 1996 double the number 10 years
before. That was 615 people for each 100,000 of the population a little
over 6 times our rate. It had locked people away for just drugrelated
offences at a higher rate than our rate for all crimes.

On November 4, 1997, The Washington Post says that since 1992 they have
added 5,300 inspectors and patrollmen to the force guarding its border with
Mexico. It has supplemented the force with the National Guard, and yet an
estimated 70 tonnes of illegal drugs crosses that border each day.

The zero tolerance policies of the USA has produced 4.6 heroin deaths per
100,000, compared with 0.23 heroin deaths per 100,000 in the Netherlands
where they do not believe in zero tolerance.

Mr Howard wants a bipartisan policy. Well we had a bipartisan policy in
1987, and decided on harm minimisation. We had the crazy idea that we would
supply free clean needles so that intravenous drug users could inject their
illegal drugs. No such thing in New York City. If a drug is illegal, don't
assist anyone to use it.

New York City has about the same population as NSW, and it has 17,000
reported cases of paediatric AIDS, compared with 42 reported cases in NSW.

Mr Howard has said that while he is Prime Minister we will not copy the
Swiss, who have trialled heroin maintenance with conspicuous success in
every measurement of their trial. Why wait 3 years to see the results we
can predict from today?

PETER WATNEY
Holt