PROHIBITION WON'T STOP DRUGS

Re: Don't 'give up' on drug fight, Canada told, March 4.

I had to laugh at Paul Kennedy's statement that "while drug consumption will
never be eliminated, governments cannot abandon efforts to control the
cultivation, movement and sale of narcotics."

The comment from Mr. Kennedy, a senior assistant deputy minister for the
Solicitor General's Department, was funny because in the first place,
prohibition is not an attempt to control the cultivation, movement or sale
of narcotics. In fact, prohibition relinquishes all control of cultivation,
movement and sales to the criminal elements who are not bound by any
regulations and are not burdened with any moral or ethical concern for the
public health or our children.

As a matter of fact, the first step to controlling the cultivation, movement
or sale of drugs is to regulate them. We know that drug use will never go
away, so we must act to reduce the harm caused by drugs by regulating them
according to the actual dangers they present.

Hard drugs must be prescribed to addicts: The Swiss government just
overwhelmingly re-approved its system of prescription to heroin addicts,
because it works better than prohibition. Marijuana should be regulated like
beer and wine.

Regulation is the better choice, and the only choice that has any real
chance of succeeding.

Jim White,

Oregon, Ohio