Pubdate: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Copyright: 2012 The Edmonton Journal Contact: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134 Page: A19 Author: Ronald G. Rowswell Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n230/a05.html?1146 WAR ON DRUGS TOO LIMITED Re: "Drug war lost, new tack needed," Editorial, April 19. The flaw in Richard Nixon's war on drugs was the fact that it concentrated on heroin, cocaine and marijuana - the drugs used by minority groups - and ignored alcohol and tobacco, the drugs used by most people. The British medical journal Lancet published a comparison of the harm done by all these drugs on Nov. 6, 2010. It ranked alcohol as the most harmful drug, at 72 points, followed by heroin at 55, crack cocaine at 54, tobacco at 26, and marijuana at 20. The high ranking for alcohol was not only because of the harm done to the user, but also the harm done to others, such as fetal alcohol syndrome disorder and deaths due to drunk driving. The Journal's editorial states 50,000 people have died in Mexican gang wars during the last six years. Deaths due to tobacco-related illnesses during that same time were 222,000 in Canada, 2,658,000 in the United States and 30 million worldwide. When President Barack Obama said, "I don't think that legalization of drugs is going to be the answer," he ignores the fact that in 1933 the U.S. government did legalize and regulate alcohol, the most harmful drug there is. The government was glad for the taxes it generated. Obama should remember that prohibition fostered organized crime, government and police corruption and social instability. The U.S. government, the main force behind this war on drugs, has to step back and look at all the drugs, not just a select few. Ronald G. Rowswell, Edmonton - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart