WAR ON DRUGS COSTLY, INEFFECTIVE

Opened my newspapers and read about the Conservative government's
plan to get tough on "drugs."

What about the government-sanctioned drugs: Alcohol, tobacco and
gambling? With the exception of tobacco, the provincial government is
pushing these at an ever more alarming rate -- witness the hundreds
of new privatized liquor outlets and gambling casinos opening and expanding.

Then I read the front-page report that Vancouver Island police
departments are facing the worst staffing crunch in memory, as is the
RCMP. So how will the government deal with its American-style war on
drugs when resources are already stretched so thin?

When Health Minister Tony Clement says there are no "safe drugs," it
sounds very hypocritical since some are already government-sanctioned.

We'd be better off with money spent on education, prevention and
therapy. Otherwise government is handing the "business" over to gangs
and criminals.

Victoria Kirby,

Victoria.