LEGALIZING DRUGS WOULD ALLOW QUALITY CONTROL

In reference to "Crystal meth summit draws 300 people on Big Island," (The
Maui News, Aug. 29):

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. 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.

The best way to reduce the harm and heartbreak of illegal drugs is to abide
by the principles of the Bill of Rights and 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.

There is one more issue to be dealt with. Prohibition clearly doesn't work,
so why do governments persist in banning some drugs? The answer? To distract
attention from more important issues by ruining the lives of an innocent
minority while providing law enforcement agencies with bigger budgets (and
free drugs). Hitler showed the way, our political leaders are merely
following along in his path.

Alan Randell

Victoria, British Columbia