METH USE CAN BE DEFEATED

Editor, The News:

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

Here in the U.S., New York City chose the zero tolerance approach during the
crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s.

Meanwhile, Washington 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 first-hand what crack was doing to
their older brothers and sisters and decided for themselves that crack was
bad news.

This is not to say nothing can be done about meth.

Access to drug treatment is critical for the current generation of meth
users.

In order to protect future generations from drugs like meth, policy makers
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 hard drugs like meth.

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

Robert Sharpe, MPA policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington,
D.C .