REDUCE DEMAND

Dear Editor:

Re: the Senate report on drugs. It was encouraging to see such a
progressive piece of writing come out of one of the highest political
bodies in the land.

What is getting lost in all the hoopla surrounding the legalizing of pot is
the fact that this is a piece of literature that recognizes the harmful
effects of drugs on society and treats them as a social and health issue,
not as a criminal one.

These are the first politicians in a long time to actually realize if you
want to curb drug usage, it is best to reduce demand among your citizens
and not focus on the supply side.

Because by reducing demand, you inherently destroy the supply and the
organized crime it usually funds, while at the same time ensuring Canadians
can get healthy.

People in Canada use drugs. At the same time, many of these same people
(usually not pot smokers) do not want to. It is called addiction; it is a
mental disorder, and no amount of jail time or fines will ever help these
people. The only thing that will is progressive legislation based upon this
report.

I challenge people to look beyond the legalization of pot controversy that
will stem from this report and think about how to honestly deal with
Canadian citizens who have a problem they can no longer control.

Anthony Gracey, Halifax