DUTCHED

Re: "Smoking out tourists?" (July 6), it would be good for Dutch
legislators to think strategically before enacting social legislation
to coerce a particular behavior.

First, and most important, how will it be enforced? Overenforcing can
cause more societal damage than the behavior itself, if left alone.

In the event of such blowback, what will be the remedy? Usually the
remedy is to escalate the enforcement, since legislators are loath to
admit a mistake, even their predecessors' mistakes. We Americans
remember the 1920s' lesson of national Prohibition, and can only
watch as the Dutch begin to move in the wrong direction.

For enlightened modern thinking on "drugs", study the Swiss
experience since 1994 in stemming a tide of overdose deaths and AIDS
caused by IV drug users.

It has been so successful that even UNODC is backing off criticism of
the Swiss. As for cannabis, by U.S. standards, it is already
decriminalized, since the penalty for trade in soft drugs, up to 100
grams is a fine equivalent to up to a week's normal income, and no jail time.

John Chase, Palm Harbor