LEGALIZE IT, PROBLEM SOLVED

Editor,

Re: "Crystal Meth users target North Shore in rash of car thefts and B&E's"
(June 20 issue).

Lord save us all from the unremitting ignorance of the press.

If Ecstasy were legal, there would be little need for its users to resort
to petty crime to finance their habit. They could stop by the corner store
for their supply on their way to work, like tobacco users do.

Nearly all the harm done to users and non-users alike by illegal drugs is
due to the fact that 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 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, B.C.