DRUG LAWS ANTIQUATED

Editor:

Re: Do your Part - turn in a thief or pusher, Jan. 29

Ray Tostado has made the mistake of attacking the symptoms, not the cause.
Banning drugs always causes crime as was made crystal clear when alcohol was
banned and Al Capone and his friends were catapulted into power.

Mr. Tostado would do well to remember also that drug prohibition began at
the beginning of the 20th century as a means of protecting virtuous white,
Christian women from the seductive wiles of blacks (marijuana), Mexicans
(marijuana) and Chinese (opium), but today, the police are happy to make use
of this law to harass all those whose lifestyle or appearance offends them.
Naturally, every effort is made to avoid arresting the offspring of
influential individuals such as politicians or newspaper editors.

No government has the right to punish anyone for ingesting anything, however
harmful.

The consequences of prohibition are worse than anything that preceded it:
More user deaths because of adulterated drugs, much more crime, explosions
and fires in illegal drug labs, electricity thefts, accelerated spread of
infectious diseases, skyrocketing law enforcement costs, police corruption,
disrespect for the law, easier access for children (because drugs are often
sold at school by classmates), more difficult for parents and children to
communicate honestly about drugs, etc.

Some say the state has the right to ban harmful drugs, but even if that were
true, our drug laws still make no sense because two of our more harmful
recreational drugs, alcohol and tobacco are not banned and marijuana is
banned even though it is less harmful than either.

The purpose of drug prohibition remains the same as it was a century ago: To
distract and entertain the majority by persecuting an innocent minority. It
is long past time to put an end to this evil law.

Alan Randell

Victoria, BC, Canada