LEGALIZATION ISN'T GOING TO MAKE PROBLEMS DISAPPEAR

Editor:

Re: Eroding rights not the answer, letter to the editor, Feb. 28

Defeatists like Thomas Falcone have a superficial understanding of the
Charter of Rights and choose to ignore its caveats like "reasonable
limits."

These qualifications allow Parliament to elucidate investigative
powers. To borrow an aphorism from an American jurist: The
constitution is not a suicide pact.

I find it ironic when nefarious civil libertarians condemn
"simplistic" conservative justice policy but demand a dangerously
simplistic solution for every social problem that crops up:
legalization. If all dangerous drugs were to be legalized does that
mean all of the despicable thugs who dwell in our cities are to be
given amnesty?

Civil libertarians have an inveterate and inexplicable contempt for
law enforcement. They see no crime problem, just a police problem.

Legalizing drugs greatly diminishes the role of police, thus fudging
crime data and giving a false sense of security.

Drug addiction is not a disease as Falcone suggests but a moral
weakness. So long as dangerous drugs are outlawed they are to be dealt
with through the criminal justice system.

Drug addicts are not innocent bystanders and they must pay a penalty
proportionate to their contribution to the moral and material decay of
Canadian society.

Steven Austin