VAN KESTEREN FAVOURS PROHIBITION-FUELLED BLOODBATH

Re: Van Kesteren favours tougher jail sentences (Dec. 9 Chatham Sun).The
headline should read "Van Kesteren favours prohibition-fuelled bloodbath."

Why can't he see the simple logic that the more we "crack down" on the
drug trade, the more profit the drug dealers make?

Taking the marijuana business out of the hands of kids and criminals
and putting it into the hands of responsible adults is socially
conservative. Generating tax revenue from that industry is fiscally
conservative, and using that money to teach kids why they should avoid
drugs is morally conservative.

But the "Conservative" party is still keen on "cracking down," which
is exactly what the growers and dealers want.

Drug prohibition aims to reduce use, abuse, crime, societal cost, and
danger -- but, not only does it fail to achieve any of these goals,
prohibition laws actually make the situation worse simply by existing.

Clearly, the more illegal we make something, the more profitable it
becomes. The more we "crack down," the more competition increases for
those that we don't catch. This will inevitably increase gun violence.

Mandatory minimums have failed in the U.S. and will fail here. The
sensible plan would be to legalize and regulate the marijuana
industry, reap $3 billion in annual tax revenue, and spend a chunk of
that on police and border security to keep guns off our streets.

Russell Barth

Ottawa

(Guns off our streets? Haven't the Liberals already promised that?)