Pubdate: Sun, 21 Sep 2003 Source: Penticton Western (CN BC) Copyright: 2003 Penticton Western Contact: http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1310 Author: Matthew Hulett GET SMART ON CRIME Allow me to inform Julius Bloomfield that the U.S. spends (a huge amount of money) per year on the silly drug war it has been waging for 30 years and we are quite flooded with drugs and drug dealers. Why does he expect different results in Canada? The dealers are sending you a message: You can go fly a kite. The drug policy scholars are sending you a message: Decriminalization. The mass media prints what the government would like it to more often than not. The message is pretty clear: Those who think in slogans and attempt to send messages are a testament to the failures of modern education. We need to get smart on drug crimes, not tough. And that means following the scholarly evidence and ending the drug war, quite simply. Matthew Hulett Brick, N.J. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth