Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2012 Source: North Bay Nugget (CN ON) Copyright: 2012 Sun Media Contact: http://www.nugget.ca/feedback1/LetterToEditor.aspx Website: http://www.nugget.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2226 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n225/a07.html DRUG WAR ALTERNATIVE Regarding John R. Hunt's column (War on drugs must be discussed, Nugget, April 18), there is a middle ground between drug prohibition and full legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. The success of the Swiss program has inspired pilot projects in Canada, Germany, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands If expanded, heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations addiction. Marijuana should be taxed and sold like alcohol, only without the advertising. As long as organized crime controls distribution, marijuana consumers will come into contact with hard drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana may be relatively harmless, but marijuana prohibition is deadly. Robert Sharpe Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Arlington, Virginia - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom