LEGALIZATION WOULD IMPROVE DRUG CONTROL

To The Editor: Regarding Susan Hanley Lane's Aug. 27 column:There is
middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization.
Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has reduced disease, death
and crime among chronic users.Providing addicts with standardized
doses in a clinical setting eliminates many of the problems
associated with heroin use. Addicts wouldn't be sharing needles if
not for zero tolerance laws that restrict access to clean syringes,
nor would they be committing crimes if not for artificially inflated
black market prices. Heroin maintenance pilot projects are underway
in Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. If expanded,
prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a
core client base. This would render illegal heroin trafficking
unprofitable and spare future generations addiction. Marijuana should
be taxed and regulated like alcohol, without the advertising. As long
as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized crime,
consumers of the most popular illicit drug will continue to come into
contact with sellers of methamphetamine. Given that marijuana is
arguably safer than legal alcohol, it makes no sense to waste scarce
resources on failed policies that finance organized crime and
facilitate the use of hard drugs.

Robert Sharpe, Washington

Robert Sharpe is policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy,
headquartered in Washington.