LEGALIZE DRUGS

Re: "Six overdose on tainted heroin," Feb. 2, nearly
all the harm done to users and nonusers alike by
illegal drugs is because the drugs are prohibited.
Thousands were poisoned by adulterated booze during
Prohibition and thousands more are dying today because
of adulterated drugs, an aspect of government policy
my wife and I became well-acquainted with when our
19-year-old son, Peter, died shortly after ingesting
some street heroin in 1993. Drug prohibition
encourages crime, too, as was shown when Al Capone
rose to power after alcohol was banned.

Let us never forget also that drug prohibition is racist in origin. It
began almost a century ago when the drugs used by certain nonwhite
minorities (blacks, Chinese, Mexicans) were banned ostensibly to
protect virtuous, white, Christian woman from being seduced by these
minorities.

Today, the police are happy to make use of this racist legislation to
control and harass those whose lifestyle and/or appearance offends
them, taking care, of course, not to arrest the offspring of
influential individuals such as newspaper editors or
politicians.

The best way to reduce the harm and heartbreak of illegal drugs is to
end drug prohibition. Let's legalize all drugs, remove the propaganda
and the police from the equation and have the drugs manufactured by
knowledgeable, competent organizations who will supply cheap, quality
tested drugs of known purity and potency and who, in order to avoid
legal liability, will impart factual drug information to us and our
children.

ALAN RANDELL

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada