MIDDLE GROUND IN DRUG CONTROL

Re: It's Time To End The War On Drugs, Jonathan Kay, March 31.

There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket
legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown
to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. And providing
addicts with standardized doses in a clinical setting eliminates many
of the problems associated with heroin use.

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 is controlled by organized
crime, consumers of the most popular illicit drug will continue to
come into contact with sellers of addictive drugs like cocaine. Given
that marijuana is arguably safer than legal alcohol, it makes no sense
to waste tax dollars on failed policies that finance organized crime
and facilitate hard drug use.

Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington