Pubdate: Fri, 13 Jan 2006
Source: Kamloops This Week (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Kamloops This Week
Contact:  http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1271
Author: Markus Ermisch
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction)

LEGALIZE, 'MEDICALIZE' DRUGS

Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats shoot rifles with bent 
barrels when it comes to their stance on gun control, argues local 
Green party candidate Matthew Greenwood.

The Liberals' gun registry and their proposed handgun ban are "making 
things a little difficult for gun owners, even for farmers," argues 
the Thompson Rivers University student, who is just completing his 
degree in economics and political science.
The Conservatives, on the other hand, use a heavy-handed 
law-and-order approach, want to lock people up and "throw away the 
key," according to Greenwood, adding that the NDP emphasizes a soft 
approach by including youth centres as part of the solution to 
curbing gun violence.

"But [gun] violence comes out of organized crime and the illegal drug 
trade," Greenwood said. "So the most reasonable solution is to cut 
gangs and remove the lucrative drug trade."

In other words: Legalize drugs and implement harm reduction programs, 
such as safe-injection sites.

Legalizing drugs, Greenwood said, would "be a huge new source of 
revenue for the government. In B.C., the No. 1 industry is pot, and 
it's illegal."

Soft drugs like marijuana should certainly be legalized, whereas hard 
drugs should be "medicalized," which, Greenwood said, means to 
provide them cleanly and safely.
And if crime loses its major source of revenue once drugs are 
legalized, gun violence will drop accordingly, Greenwood said.

"This is the least ideologically driven solution," he said. "It would 
reduce gang violence."

It's as easy as understanding the basics of the laws of supply and 
demand, Greenwood said, arguing that other parties haven't come up 
with the same solution because of their ideological bias and 
consequent refusal to look at issues holistically.
"The other parties just deal with the symptoms," Greenwood said.

"The Greens think that's an approach doomed to failure."

Green party candidate says such a move would cripple organized crime
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom