MIDDLE GROUND ON DRUGS

Dear Editor,

Regarding Gregory Beach's Feb. 1 op-ed "The war on drugs is a
failure": There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and
blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has
been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users.
Providing addicts with standardized doses in a clinical setting
eliminates many of the problems associated with illicit heroin use.

The success of the Swiss program has inspired heroin-maintenance pilot
projects in Canada, Germany, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands. If
expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized
crime of a core client base. This would render illegal heroin
trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations of addiction.

Marijuana should be taxed and regulated like alcohol, only without the
advertising. Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As
long as cartels control distribution, marijuana consumers will come
into contact with sellers of addictive drugs like cocaine. This
"gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Students who
want to help reform harmful drug laws should contact Students for
Sensible Drug Policy at schoolsnotprisons.com.

Sincerely, Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy