Pubdate: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC) Copyright: 2006, BC Newspaper Group Contact: http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/948 Author: Jack A. Cole Cited: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition http://leap.cc Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1111/a01.html DRUG PROHIBITION SHOULD BE ENDED To the Editor, Letter writer Kenneth Tupper's astute observations Re: Canada's drug policy sadly outdated, Aug. 19 mirror those of a growing group of police, judges and other criminal justice professionals. Based on our long years of experience working the front lines of the drug war we have concluded that it's time to end drug prohibition. Across North America, citizens are realizing the futility of asking police and the criminal justice system to "control" a multi-billion dollar annual illegal drug market. Despite the best intentions, police have no way to monitor and control a market run by mysterious, unidentified players who work behind closed doors and on the streets and alleys of our neighborhoods. That's the common sense approach we've applied the past 72 years for the most dangerous and risky drugs - alcohol, tobacco and pharmacueticals. Legalizing drugs will not solve all the real problems we have that are the byproducts of drug abuse. But it will eliminate virtually all violence affiliated with the illegal market. And it will allow police and public regulators to identify all dealers thanks to licensed regulation. Meanwhile, the tens of billions of taxpayers' dollars spent across North America to wage the 35-year-old, frutiless war on drugs can be rechanneled into providing improved education and more drug treatment options for those citizens with true abuse problems. JACK A. COLE Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Medford, Ma. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath