WIN THE WAR ON METH

Re: Meth watch (NEWS Views, March 9).

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.

The following U.S. Department of Justice research brief confirms my
claims regarding the spontaneous decline of crack cocaine:
http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles1/nij/187490.txt

Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy
www.csdp.org Washington, DC