Pubdate: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 Source: Daily Gazette (NY) Copyright: 2009 The Daily Gazette Co. Contact: http://www.dailygazette.com/op_letter/ Website: http://www.dailygazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/105 Author: William Aiken GIVE ADDICTS HEROIN, NOT METHADONE, WHEN TARGETING THEIR HABITS When announcing the approach to his drug policy, President Obama stated that his administration will put more of an emphasis on drug treatment and less reliance on the criminal justice systems. That shift in strategy is a wise one that will yield more cost-effective results while lowering the number of addicts. However, President Obama should go further, and look to other countries that have had success with heroin maintenance clinics, such as Germany and Switzerland. Not only have these clinics played a role in reducing drug-related crime in these countries by double digits, the addicts' recovery cycle is accelerated. They can work a job and be with their families while they receive heroin administrated by a doctor. In America, we offer addicts methadone clinics. Since the majority of addicts prefer heroin over methadone, they often go back to their drug of choice through black market resources. Drug policy reform requires not only a smart president, but a strong president. A president who can face the opposition that tars its adversaries as soft on drugs. These European countries have figured out what drug policy is the most effective, while America has suffered from a slow learning curve on this issue. Our inability to do the right thing has given America the title of having the world's highest incarceration rate. We make up less then 5 percent of the world population yet we account for 25 percent of the world's entire prison population. We went from having 50,000 drug offenders in our jails and prisons in 1980 to over 500,000 today. Our shortsightedness led to a federal ban on clean needle exchange which has substantially increased our AIDS and HIV populations. We can no longer afford a slow learning curve. President Obama is the right man to advocate these changes in drug policy. The question is, will the American public allow its hatred of drugs and all the problems they create to be the guiding force in determining our policy? William Aiken Schenectady - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake