Pubdate: Thu, 18 Jan 2007
Source: Jamaica Gleaner, The (Jamaica)
Copyright: 2007 The Gleaner Company Limited
Contact: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/feedback.html
Website: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/493
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n037/a07.html
Author: Robert Sharpe

LETTER OF THE DAY

GANJA SHOULD BE TAXED, REGULATED LIKE ALCOHOL

The Editor, Sir:

Gwynne Dyer's January 12 column was right on target. There is a 
middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalisation. 
Switzerland's heroin maintenance programme has been shown to reduce 
disease, death and crime among chronic users.

Providing addicts with standardised doses in a clinical setting 
eliminates many of the problems associated with heroin use.

Heroin maintenance pilot projects are under way in Canada, England, 
Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin 
maintenance would deprive organised crime of a core client base. This 
would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future 
generations from addiction.

Marijuana should be taxed and regulated like alcohol, only without 
the ubiquitous advertising. Separating the hard and soft drug markets 
is critical. As long as marijuana distribution remains in the hands 
of organised crime, consumers of the most popular illicit drug will 
continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine.

Given that marijuana is arguably safer than legal alcohol, it makes 
no sense to waste scarce resources on failed policies that finance 
organised crime and facilitate the use of hard drugs.

Drug policy reform 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

To learn more about heroin maintenance research in Canada please 
visit: http://www.naomistudy.ca/

I am, etc.,

ROBERT SHARPE, MPA

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy

http://www.csdp.org

P.O. Box 59181

Washington, DC 20012
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake