Pubdate: Fri, 05 May 2006
Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Vancouver Courier
Contact:  http://www.vancourier.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n561/a04.html
Author: Robert Sharpe
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

FREE HEROIN PUTS HEALTH BEFORE POLITICS

To the editor:

Re: "NAOMI's end will junk lives," May 3.

Switzerland's heroin maintenance trials have been proven to reduce 
drug-related disease, death, and crime among chronic users. Addicts 
would not be sharing needles if not for zero tolerance laws that 
restrict access to clean syringes, nor would they be committing 
crimes if not for artificially inflated black market prices.

Heroin maintenance pilot projects are underway in Canada, Germany, 
Spain and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin 
maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This 
would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future 
generations addiction. Putting public health before politics may send 
the wrong message to children, but I like to think the children are 
more important than the message.

For information on the efficacy of heroin maintenance, please read 
the following British Medical Journal report: 
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/327/7410/310.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman