DRUG LAWS ANTIQUATED

Re: Wrong on drugs, May 24.

The Free Press has it right on every count. It is wrong and foolish
to spend money enforcing Canada's antiquated drug laws. It is hard to
understand why the federal government is allocating even more money
to an approach that clearly does not work.

It is time we began to treat drug abuse in exactly the same way we
treat the abuse of alcohol and tobacco -- have government control the
supply and educate. This approach has eradicated neither alcohol nor
tobacco abuse but it has worked far better than prohibition and
placing addicts in jail. Thankfully, no one is suggesting we initiate
a war on tobacco or alcohol. The war analogy is useless and should be
discarded when it comes to addictions.

The editorial says it well: "Treating drug use as a crime breeds
crime and feeds crime and serves only to provide a lucrative income
for criminal gangs that infest the nation's cities."

I would further say that our laws enable terrorists in places like
Afghanistan -- endangering the lives of the men and women in the
Canadian Forces.

Bill Martin

Gimli