VULNERABLE WOMEN TARGETED

I appreciated Neal Boyd's column Rethinking the trade in sex and
drugs, March 23. I have struggled with trying to find the best
approach to the problems of prostitution and drugs, and found Boyd's
concepts of "tiers of risk" sensible.

It had not occurred to me that women who work the sex trade in
massage parlours have a vastly better life than those who work the
streets. Yet our present system predominantly targets those who are
the most vulnerable, the street workers, and criminalizes them. It
would make good sense to change our tactics and priorize the use of
public resources to devise supports for street workers that are as
effective as the ones for those who work in massage parlours.

Similarly, it seems foolish to place a high enforcement priority on
catching people who use or deal in cannabis. Our current cannabis
policy, similar to the old policy of prohibition of alcohol, simply
lines the pockets of organized crime. To paraphrase an old political
slogan, what we have now is "corporate welfare for criminals." In
other words, government is subsidizing crime. And carefully regulated
access for addicts to drugs such as crack and crystal meth would
ensure that drug-addicted prostitutes and other unfortunates do not
have to take to the streets to find the money for their next fix.

Bill Martin

Gimli