VOTE 'NO' ON DRUG USE

In Massachusetts we have recently made some headway on changing the
drunk driving laws. It was a long hard fight. We waited too long. It
is now time for the public to inform our legislators that those who
smoke marijuana, sniff cocaine, shoot heroin or ingest any other
mind-altering illegal drug, should also not drive on our roads. They
should be in rehabilitation and our young people should be hearing
the facts and dangers of mind-altering drugs to encourage drug-free
children. We cannot prevent drug use while promoting drug use. Any
bill that makes illegal drugs or needles more available to addicts
should not be passed into law for any reason. I refer to a bill at
the State House (H4176) that will allow the sale of needles to
anyone over the age of 18 without a prescription. This bill should
not be passed. It is deceptive. It includes a 'rolled-in' bill
(S1272) that allows the Department of Public Health to put needle
give-away programs wherever it chooses, without the knowledge or
consent of the people in the targeted communities.

Needle Exchange Programs are not funded by the federal government
because they have not been scientifically shown to prevent AIDS and
because there is evidence that such programs encourage drug use. The
state should abide by the same logic and not give its stamp of
approval to the use of illegal drugs via needle give-away programs.

This bill tramples on our drug paraphernalia laws and sends a
message that use of illegal drugs is condoned and acceptable. Should
the Senate pass H4176 it will have an effect on the safety of our
neighborhoods and children. Law enforcement will no longer have the
capability to arrest users. Whenever drugs are readily available,
consumption and addiction always increase along with all of the
resultant concurrent crime. Needle handout sites are a magnet for
drug dealers, prostitution and violence, fostering child neglect,
birth defects, crime, emergency room over-crowding, a rise in
insurance coasts, lost productivity in the workplace, and escalating
healthcare costs - all at taxpayers' expense.

Needle exchange programs have been oversold, over publicized and
over promoted. Treatment and education, minus needles, have been
proven to be the most compassionate and most successful means to help
the addict. What we could use is public outrage generated toward
those whose goal is to legalize mind-altering drugs with no
compassion towards the addict and the families who suffer. Please
call your senators to vote NO on H4176.

Mary Smith is a member of Concerned Citizens for Drug Prevention Inc.