(The following letter was published in the Letters section of NP):
Give addicts hope, not drugs
National Post, Published: May 03, 2010
Re: Conservatives Should Get Weak On Drugs, Evan Wood, April 26.
Evan Wood appears to overlook the reality of the drug problem. He asserts that prohibitions against the nonmedical use of drugs are futile and only increase crime and violence. This has not been the experience of other countries such as Sweden. According to a 2006 report of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, Sweden has among Europe's lowest rates of crime, disease, medical and social problems stemming from drug addiction. This is due to the fact that Sweden employs a program of compulsory drug treatment for addicts. This success is similar to that achieved by drug courts in Canada. These courts ensure that addicts undergo treatment and rehabilitation as an alternative to a conviction and court record.
Giving an addict hope, rather than the despair offered by liberalized drug laws, is a far more humane and civilized approach to addiction. That is, instead of allowing the addict to deepen his/her addiction which leads to his inevitable and unenviable death, the addict is given an opportunity to regain health and well-being by being rid of the terrors of addiction.
C. Gwendolyn Landolt,
Drug Prevention Network of Canada, Richmond Hill, Ont.
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