WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

Politicians and assorted do-gooders, from the federal government down to
Vancouver City, are busily applauding themselves over the "Four Pillars"
strategy they've implemented in the city's drug ghetto.

The lastest wrinkle is the free heroin trial, in which 100 addicts are
receiving free drugs under the supervision of medical staff who will
compare how well these 100 do versus another 100 who won't get free drugs.

It's a well-meaning notion, I suppose, but I wonder how this will be
rationalized to seniors and the seriously ill who are putting out big money
for life-saving and pain-reducing pharmaceuticals.

It hardly seems fair, does it?

But that's the "nanny state" for you. Every social ill or evil can be
solved by regulation and the attention of a squadron of social workers,
plus a generous dollop of taxpayer cash. Even insolvable problems don't
faze these experts.

We're much to genteel a society to follow the Chinese example (a bullet in
the addict's head, and a bill sent to the family for the bullet), but
perhaps the best solution to the rampant, heinous crime that accompanies
narcotic addiction would be for the government to simply give up trying to
control it. Legalize it and let people do whatever they like with their
bodies and souls. Narcotics would be cheap, and thus there'd be no profit
for organized crime, nor reason for addicts to steal to maintain their habits.

This is essentially what the government has done with gambling, a
burgeoning business that soon will generate a billion dollars annually for
the provincial treasury.

Rather than attempt to prosecute internet gambling sites located offshore
- -- admittedly an impossibility -- the government runs a growing armada of
slot machines that offer pathetic odds to gamblers and huge profits to the
government and private casino operators.

Solicitor General Rich Coleman said recent rule changes to allow a popular
new version of poker at officially-sanctioned casinos has resulted in the
closure of three unlicensed Vancouver poker rooms. Less money for illegal
operators and more money for the government.

Personally, I'm not at all happy with a government that runs a "numbers
racket" but if that's what people want to do with their money, have at it.
And I support those who wish to help addicts of any description with reform
programs; that's a very noble cause with some successes at helping people
escape dependency.

Coleman considers the gambling rule changes a progressive step, yet he
doesn't see that the same principle applies to the vice of drugs.

The war on drugs is a farce, just like the war for democracy is a sham.
It's time to hoist the white flag, and put the money to better uses. Let
the addicts have at it.