Pubdate: Thu, 17 Nov 2016
Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Prince George Citizen
Contact:  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350
Author: Nick Fremmerlid
Page: 6

WAR ON DRUGS A FAILURE

Re: George Getty letter, entitled "Tough on drugs."

While your emotionless concern over these fentanyl related deaths was
noted, you offered no real solution besides chastising the users and
their parenting.

You said, "Further, the penalty for dealing drugs should be more
severe and immediate. If you're caught with drugs you should be
summarily punished..."

Our current policies show how prohibition and creating a "war on
drugs" are all counter productive. So your solution is to double down
on an already failed concept?

I understand you have an emotional bias on the matter (going so far as
to say "it should be guilty until proven innocent," a very frightening
piece of advice and behaviour that would be reserved for war lords and
dictators) but I would like to point you to Portugal for an example.

In 2001 Portugal decriminalized most drugs. The many millions of
dollars saved on incarcerating people was able to be shifted to public
health and better welfare programs for people. In the many years
since, there has been a steady decline of use, of drug related deaths,
of HIV transmission and of course, drug related incarceration.

Increasing the punishment and making things even more illegal and
restricted will do nothing but increase gang activity, increase the
possibility of tainted and impure drugs, increase drug related deaths,
increase drug usage, increase incarceration population and increase
all the money wasted on a policy that has been proven time and time
again to be ineffective.

Our government is taking steps in the right direction. Offering
overdose kits and drug prevention/education, are all solid ideas based
around concepts of solid and proven policies.

Your "off the wall" thinking is, in fact, nothing new and is exactly
the type of thinking that has brought us to this fentanyl problem in
the first place.

It's time for something that works.

It's time to approach drug use and policy without emotional bias and
with an open mind.

Nick Fremmerlid

Prince George
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt