Pubdate: Tue, 07 Feb 2012
Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2012 The Calgary Sun
Contact: http://www.calgarysun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.calgarysun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
Author: Ricky Leong
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

HEADS IN THE SAND ON ECSTASY ABUSE

Drugs can kill you. It's a simple message government and law 
enforcement have been trying to get across for what seems like forever.

That hasn't stopped people from consuming drugs -- and of late, the 
results have been deadly.

There's an extra-toxic batch of adulterated ecstasy going around, 
killing at least a dozen people in southern Alberta since summer.

However, it must not be forgotten all ecstasy can kill.

As this newspaper reported Sunday, a Red Deer group is looking to 
curb the number of ecstasy deaths, not only by spreading the word 
about how dangerous it is, but also by teaching how much is too much 
and what to do in case of an overdose. The reaction was swift and negative.

This kind of harm-reduction was derided as misguided, selfish and 
irresponsible by police union boss John Dooks.

Ald. John Mar, who's also advocating an anti-drug campaign in 
Calgary, said he didn't agree with the approach but welcomed the 
educational aspect of the Red Deer campaign.

This tepid reaction is curious, seeing how we've long embraced a form 
of harm reduction for another widely available drug: Alcohol.

When abused, alcohol can ruin your life. Destroy your family. Even kill you.

Governments of eras past tried to keep alcohol out of our lives by 
making its production and sale either difficult or outright illegal.

But prohibition didn't produce the desired effect.

Today, the words "drink responsibly" or "enjoy responsibly" accompany 
practically every alcohol-related commercial or printed advertisement 
shown in Canada.

Even lawmakers and law enforcement advocate for moderation -- most 
recently during the debate about administrative penalties for 
operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 to 0.08.

It took years, but government finally learned that to outlaw alcohol 
use would not stop social drinking or alcohol addiction. Better to 
regulate the substance, teach people how (and how not) to use it, 
help those who want to stop drinking and deal with any negative 
fallout using our health and legal systems.

If someone commits a crime while under the influence, the legal 
system takes over. In the case of improper use of a motor vehicle 
while drunk, a mix of criminal code statutes and provincial penalties awaits.

And if you choose to give up alcohol, there are people willing and 
able to help you.

In light of our mostly successful push to moderate the consumption of 
alcohol and limit the damage it does to society, it's baffling that a 
harm-reduction strategy for ecstasy would generate such a negative reaction.

For decades, governments across the continent have advocated a "Just 
Say No" approach to drugs, yet people continually choose to buy, sell 
or consume illicit drugs.

Preaching chemical abstinence alone is a head-in-thesand strategy 
that gives politicians the feeling they've done something to fight a 
deadly drug scourge -- all the while forgetting people are not always 
inclined to do what lawmakers tell them to.

There is a compelling argument to be made for legalizing some (if not 
all) drugs, with the goal of making them safer by regulating them and 
taking their production and sale out of criminals' hands.

But that debate is for another time.

For now, suffice it to say there is nothing wrong with explaining to 
people how ecstasy affects your body and why too much can kill you.

Our laws and abstinence campaigns haven't done their job, so we 
should embrace other, perhaps better ways of preventing drug abuse.

"Just Say No" just doesn't cut it.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom