ZERO TOLERANCE APPROACH ON METH NOT WORKING IN U.S.

Editor,

How should B.C. respond to the growing use of methamphetamine?

Here in the United States, New York City chose the zero tolerance
approach during the crack epidemic of the 1980s.

Meanwhile, Washington, DC Mayor Marion Barry was smoking crack and
America's capital had the highest per capita murder rate in the
country. Yet crack use declined in both cities simultaneously.

The decline was not due to a slick anti-drug advertising campaign or
the passage of mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

Simply put, the younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing
to their older siblings and decided for themselves that crack was bad
news.

This is not to say nothing can be done about methamphetamine. Access
to drug treatment is critical for the current generation of users.

In order to protect future generations from hard drugs like meth,
policymakers need to adopt the Canadian Senate's common sense proposal
to tax and regulate marijuana.

As long as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized
crime, consumers will continue to come into contact with addictive
drugs like meth. This gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally
flawed policy.

Drug policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I like
to think the children are more important than the message.

Robert Sharpe

Policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy