PROHIBITION AND PRISON FOR ADDICTION SENSELESS

Dear Editor:

The illogic of Wallace Craig's Dec. 14 diatribe against drug policy,
Drug Regulation Is a Slippery Slope to Hell, reform becomes apparent
when his arguments are applied to tobacco and alcohol.

If prohibition really worked, then those two substances - which cause
by far the greatest burden of illness from drug use - should be prohibited.

However, the failures of prohibition of alcohol - violence,
corruption, organized crime - are readily apparent to those willing
to learn from history. And how many tobacco smokers would agree to
spending time in prison for their failure to overcome their addiction?

By the same token, allowing corporations to profit by heavily
marketing and promoting the consumption of these or any other drug is
also a tragic mistake.

The Health Officers Council of British Columbia offers a balanced and
realistic response to the intractable reality of drug use in our
society. Your readers can decide for themselves by reading the report
at www.cfdp.ca/bchoc.pdf.

Gillian Maxwell, chairwoman

Keeping the Door Open: Dialogues on Drug Use

Vancouver