Pubdate: Wed, 17 Nov 2004
Source: Airdrie Echo (CN AB)
Copyright: 2004 Airdrie Echo
Contact:  http://www.airdrieecho.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1558
Author: Russell Barth
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

PROHIBITION NOT A SOLUTION

Dear Editor:

Re: Church raises drug awareness (Airdrie Echo, Oct. 13)

I hope The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' version of "drug 
awareness" is not a lot of prohibitionist propaganda about how "pot leads 
to harder drugs" and other moralistic dogma. I hope someone gets up and 
makes the point that back in the 1920s, it was actually mothers who pushed 
the government to legalize and regulate alcohol so that their children 
would have restricted access, and that the same would work with all drugs 
today.

If we want to restrict the access that children have to drugs, we as a 
society should legalize and regulate them for adult consumption. It won't 
cure the problem, but it will certainly make it better and reduce teen drug 
use, abuse and harm. As it is now, teens are buying drugs in playgrounds, 
usually from other teens.

The prohibitionist policy we have employed for the past 80 years hasn't 
worked, has cost a fortune and has made drugs of all kinds more popular 
than ever. We need to look at regulation as a way of reducing harm, saving 
lives and saving money. If prohibition was going to work, it would have 
worked by now.

Russell Barth

Ottawa, Ont. 
- ---