WOULD LEGALIZING DRUGS REALLY END THE VIOLENCE?

Re: The war on drugs has become a war against us, March 23
Columnist Peter McKnight tries to convince us society would be better
off if we just
legalized drugs, but he fails to mention a number of key points.

First, he needs to know that prevention has worked. In the case of
tobacco, we have reduced use dramatically during the last 20 years.
This will save many lives and health dollars.

This has not happened with illegal drugs because the people trying to
prevent and reduce drug use are starved for funding to create and keep
programs and policies in place while also having to deal with the de
facto pro-drug-use messages being pumped out by the legalizers. We
must want to reduce the incidence and prevalence of drug use badly
enough to focus on it with consistent, clear and continuing messages.

Secondly, McKnight never mentions that the problems caused by drugs
exist because (a) some people break the law to buy and use them, and
(b) the users and the heartless criminals who produce, sell and
transport the substances don't care enough about the cost to human
life to stop doing so. There is no evidence that if drugs were
legalized, violent crime, cartels, gangs and anti-social behaviour
would be reduced. We stand against them here or we stand against them
somewhere else -- and have increased drug use and problems, to boot.

The war, if there is one, is between those who want safe, drug-free
communities and those who simply want to open the gates to that which
is destructive to families and communities. The path of surrender will
only worsen our quality of life. Drugs are cancerous to individuals,
families and communities. We must not give way to them because
resisting them is a tough job.

Colin Mangham, Principal, Population Health Promotion Associates, Langley