Pubdate: Thu, 31 Jan 2013
Source: Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)
Copyright: 2013 Prince Albert Daily Herald
Contact:  http://www.paherald.sk.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1918
Author: Jim Pattison
Page: 4

DRUG LAWS EXIST BECAUSE THEY ARE NEEDED

To the editor: This letter is in reply to Andrew Carswell, who wrote a
column that appeared in the Daily Herald last month. It is good that
students are gaining experience being active in the community.

You quoted a very large number for the drug war. I am unsure of the
source of this figure you quote and what it includes. A figure this
large likely includes other initiatives like public health and
customs. There is a cost to limit the spread of diseases like SARS,
H1N1 and Ebola that affect people. Veterinary diseases like "Hoof and
Mouth disease" in cattle and diseases like Trichinosis can create a
major loss. Citrus fruit and fruit flies are items of major interest
because of the economic losses that can occur.

What I think what we should do about drug decriminalization depends on
the evidence?

1. In the last two years, have been asked at every job I applied for
about substance abuse. This includes alcohol and "recreational drugs"
of which you speak. This is a growing problem in the Canadian work
force. It accounts for absenteeism, decreased performance, errors,
injuries of abusers and others, excessive tardiness, poor grades,
suspension, etc. Personally, it accounts for mood swings, withdrawal,
depression, poor hygiene. There is damage to both short-term and
long-term memory. This can lead to problems with learning and memory
later in life.

Business owners lose an estimated $100 billion per year because of
substance abuse ($3,171 every second). This is about $2,000 more per
second being spent than on the drug war! Employees who use drugs are
only two-thirds as productive as nonusers, and their use contributes
to increased thefts, damaged equipment and other unnecessary costs in
the workplace.

It is a large enough problem that the Canadian Centre on Occupational
Health and Safety has written on this topic as have several provinces
and states: http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/
http://www.health.gov.nl.ca/health/publications/addiction_substance_abuse_workplace_toolkit.pdf

2. These substances have been limited because they are recognized to
produce problems. Look at how and why Heroin was withdrawn from the
market as a painkiller by Bayer drugs before 1910. The war is on drugs
and preventing them from entering the country and coming to people
like you.

3. The new president in Mexico has begun to lighten the drug laws
there. Since he took over, there have been more deaths in the country
than before. Decriminalization does not bring decreased rates of
everything in all cases. You say "People are thrown in jail for
smoking something that may be less problematic than legally drinking
alcohol." What if they are not? Abused substances produce some form of
intoxication that alters judgment, perception, attention, or physical
control. You talk about cannabis later on, so we will address that
one.

People who drive intoxicated with alcohol know in some way that they
are impaired. Those who have been smoking cannabis derivatives have
their sensation of time and space affected and they do not realize it.
This makes them more dangerous!

Less problematic? Eisenstein wrote a landmark work on marijuana in the
1970s. The level of the active ingredient (THC) has increased many
times over since then. He identified that the risk of lung cancer with
cannabis is many times higher than tobacco in addition to the
neurological effects and the others we know about. You said "Also
people with stressful jobs can relax easier and cheaper with say a
gram of hash cannabis then with a 40 ounces of whiskey."

I can tell you that there are more cost effective, healthy and
constructive methods of relaxation than either of these! To answer
this point completely would take too many words. If you experience
stress to this degree, talk to a doctor or a counsellor to discern the
alternatives to the two choices you present. "Why can't we start the
conversation? "You already have. Perhaps the information I bring may
not be told in schools. These substances are illegal because there are
substantive reasons for it.

Jim Pattison Prince Albert
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MAP posted-by: Matt