Pubdate: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 Source: Register-Guard, The (OR) Copyright: 2001 The Register-Guard Contact: http://www.registerguard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362 Author: Randy Gicker ILLEGALITY MAKES DRUGS RISKY I appreciated the article in the July 15 Commentary section that demonstrates the madness of drug prohibition. As an intensive-care-unit nurse, I have observed that most critical admissions of illegal drug users are a result of the illegality and not the physiological or psychotropic effects of the substances. Local and systemic infections, heart valve disease and even overdoses usually occur because of the inconsistent purity and quality of black market drugs and the unhealthy circumstances under which addicts may be forced to use them. Use of heroin would be fairly safe compared to alcohol, tobacco and fast food if it were available in the quality of those legal products. The fact that marijuana is regulated at all is evidence that drug enforcement is primarily driven by authoritarian and economic considerations. Some of the most aggressive advocates of strict drug laws are police, prosecutors and prison guards. The drug war provides significant job opportunities for these taxpayer-funded employees. In addition to destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of drug users and their families, the excessive presence of law enforcement leads to even greater abuse of power than would be expected with more restrained and accountable police and judicial systems. As police officers, courts and prisons divert huge amounts of tax revenue from medical care and education, the greatest threat to public health and public safety may be local law enforcement itself. Randy Gicker Eugene - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom