LEGALIZATION OF DRUGS WOULD END SEVERAL ILLS

To the editor:

Only a fool would argue with Bernie Karras ("Don't be fooled -- drugs do
kill," Feb. 22, 2002) that drugs kill -- as do cigarettes, cars, alcohol
and a host of other seemingly innocuous items.

It's unfortunate that with drugs, the method of obtaining them is what does
even more damage, and to a greater number of people.

I didn't see the original letter from Alan Randell ("Banning drugs harms
users and non-users," Feb. 8, 2002) but I imagine he made a point similar
to the following: if you legalize drugs (all drugs), you make it possible
for the users to get their pleasure legally, with safety, and at a
reasonable cost.

I would guess that cocaine, for example, could be manufactured in safe,
sterile conditions by any number of drug companies, sold at a similar price
to alcohol (and at the same outlets) and purchased legally by anybody
looking for a different level of euphoria from that provided by alcohol or
cigarettes.

Yes, there would still be cases of people killing themselves with drugs,
just as there are millions, every year, killing themselves with freely
available cigarettes and booze.

With legalization, however, there would be fewer muggings for the
exorbitant amounts of money demanded by drug dealers, fewer deaths from
"dirty" drugs and far less crime in general.

Let's face it -- an overdose of drugs is no different from an overdose of
rich food in that either one can kill you.

Dave Ashby, Peterborough

(That's a pretty tough sell.)