Prohibition helps crooks, lawyers, and prison guards

On marijuana criminalization, we are still asking the wrong question [“Activists want citizens to dump prohibition”, July 25–August 1]. It should not be “is marijuana harmful?”, but rather “is prohibition causing more harm that it cures?” The answer is certainly “yes”.

I am in no way advocating the use of drugs. However, the so-called “war on drugs” is a massive fraud on taxpayers, parents, and the addicted.

It causes much more harm than it cures. The war funds organized crime, funds terrorists, and uses our taxes to pay thousands of police, lawyers, and prison guards. They are financially all on the same side as the criminals—ironic, huh!—and this war builds massive disrespect for the law among our young people and, for all that, does little to curb drug use.

The whole war on drugs is driven by the premise that if you control supply, you will beat the problem. But it is not supply-side driven; it is demand-side driven. And the war is not even working on supply—high school kids tell me that it is easier to get all kinds of drugs in school than it is to get beer. As long as the demand exists, someone will supply it.

One can only hope that our politicians will let research and reason prevail. But I’m not holding my breath, and certainly not with the ideologues in the Harper Conservatives.

> Ian MacLeod / Richmond

Comments

5 Comments

Robin Bajer

Aug 7, 2013 at 9:51am

There are many lawyers who oppose prohibition on these same grounds. I happen to be one of them. I suspect there are prison guards who feel the same way.

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Guns

Aug 7, 2013 at 11:53am

Does the same logic apply to guns? Taking the US as an example, marijuana is criminalized but guns are a religious right. Do they have this backwards?

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anonymous

Aug 7, 2013 at 5:15pm

Funny how it takes a letter to the editor to tell the truth. Where are your reporters on this issue Chuck Smith? Sniffing glue no doubt!

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dave19

Aug 7, 2013 at 10:31pm

It's not fair! Why can the U.S. have full legalization in two states and we can't even have decriminalization in only one province? It's not like were asking for what we deserve or anything. Please we will be good and promise not to ask for the right to defend our own lives with those scary guns.

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dave19

Aug 8, 2013 at 10:06am

It's not fair! Why can the U.S. have full legalization in two states and we can't even have decriminalization in only one province? It's not like were asking for what we deserve or anything. Please we will be good and promise not to ask for the right to defend our own lives with those scary guns.

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