LEGALIZING DRUGS WOULD STOP GANGS

Re: Put The Gangs Out Of Business: Legalize Drugs, Michael C.
Chettleburgh, June 13.

As a former gang member who served 24 years in federal prison (drug,
robbery and weapons charges) and now leads a pro-social life working
with youth in the Greater Toronto Area, I can say that Michael
Chettleburgh is right on the money with his questioning of the status
quo regarding the suppression of street drugs. Gangs as we know them
will cease to exist if we cut off their sources of income and
control--drug profits.

With the legalization of soft drugs (THC-based products such as
marijuana, oil and hashish), we would not only suppress the
underground economy, but also control the content (no more
methamphetamine-laced products).

The medicalization of stronger narcotics like cocaine and heroin
would be the next step. Doctors, rather than the criminal justice
system, would then be the first line of intervention, minimizing
procurement criminality and the medical complications of using drugs
on the street. This model does not include the current harm reduction
modality of methadone clinics, which doesn't work.

Rick Osborne, Newmarket, Ont.