Archive for Tuesday, March 2, 2004
Alan Randell: Carver's death
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Regarding the editorial, "We can learn from Carver's death," published Feb. 25 in the Steamboat Today:
This was a tragic death, of course, but the lesson to be learned here is not the one you are teaching. Just because this person couldn't handle a particular recreational drug, doesn't mean the rest of us couldn't. By your logic, we should ban alcohol because some users become alcoholics.
I too have lost a loved one to an illegal drug. My 19-year-old son, Peter, died in 1993 from the effects of street heroin. The lesson I learned is that heroin and other illegal drugs are much more dangerous when banned by law than when supplied by reliable, regulated and competent businesses. Alcohol and heroin are not poisons, but when prohibited by law and supplied by an unregulated black market, often they are.
The best way to reduce the harm and heartbreak of illegal drugs is to legalize all drugs and allow users to purchase clean, cheap, quality-tested drugs at the corner store.
Alan Randell
Victoria, British Columbia
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