TIME TO CHANGE HOW DRUG BUSTS REPORTED

Dear editor,

Re: Two locals busted for pot smuggling, Nov. 26.

Please make some changes to the way you report drug
busts.

Drug prohibition was initiated almost a century ago as a means of
"controlling" blacks, Chinese and Mexicans by banning the drugs used
by those minorities.

Today, the police are happy to utilize these racist laws to harass
those whose lifestyle and/or skin colour offends them, while
politicians are content to let an innocent minority suffer as they
troll for votes for being "tough on drugs."

Notwithstanding drug prohibition's odious origins, our political
leaders tell us drugs are now banned because they're harmful. Well if
that's true, why do we not ban alcohol or tobacco? No, the purpose of
banning some supposedly harmful recreational drugs and not other
harmful recreational drugs has nothing to do with protecting users
from harm.

Drug prohibition remains as it was a century ago: a cynical,
manipulative campaign to entertain and distract the majority by
persecuting an innocent minority.

Here are my suggestions for producing informative drug bust stories
instead of those, such as this one, that pander to your readers'
prejudices by appearing to support our venal drug cops and gutless
politicians in this evil crusade:

1. Include the comments of those, like me, who oppose these
laws.

2. Include the comments of the victims, i.e. those arrested and their
families and friends as well as (with their permission of course)
information on where they went to school, who their parents are, who
their partners are, etc. In short, personalize them.

3. Include the comments of the defending lawyer and not just the
prosecuting one.

4. Ask the drug cops if they expect to be punished for enforcing
prohibition after we come to our senses and end it (or the courts do
it for us) and some sort of truth and reconciliation commission is set
up to find out how we went so wrong. The cops, of course, will bleat
about having a duty to enforce the law. Remind them about Adolph
Eichmann who was hanged for doing exactly that. Helping to enforce
laws that are crimes against humanity is surely itself a crime.

5. Include a summary of your editorial position, if any, on these
laws.

If you and your media colleagues continue to suppress the voices of
the victims and otherwise depersonalize them, I fear our evil drug
prohibition laws will be with us for a thousand years.

Alan Randell

Victoria