Vail Daily, 15 Aug 2012 – Regarding Butch Mazzuca’s Aug. 12 column: 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. Providing addicts with standardized doses in a clinical setting eliminates many of the problems associated with illicit heroin use. The Swiss program has inspired heroin maintenance pilot projects in several countries, including Canada. 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 organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs.
posted on August 16, 2012 by
