Michael Atherton wrote:
It's nice to see that someone is finally taking a step in the right direction. The solution to the drug problem in this country is not prison, it's zoning.
Someone some time ago asked those of us who were espousing the legalization of drugs how the city might deal with these issues. I didn't want to respond because I hadn't researched the issue and I didn't have any first hand experience, now I do. I just returned from a trip to Amsterdam and after seeing for myself and talking to people, it now appears clear to me that zoning can handle many of the problems associated with drugs and prostitution. There has to be some industrial area of this city that can be converted to such uses. It's not only Amsterdam, how many of you know that prostitution is also legal in Germany?
Dennis Plante responds:
Respectfully, the only thing the proposed bill changes is the crimminal classification of the offense. It doesn't speak to zoning. It doesn't speak to increased government aid for either the drug dealers, or the prostitutes.
Without a doubt, one could argue effectively that the war on drugs has been a failure. All I need to do is get in my car and turn the corner to witness that assertion. However, I for one, am not comfortable with supporting a bill that changes nothing, other than the amount of time a drug dealer must spend in jail, before they're back out on the streets. Recognize the fact that this is not a bill that would legalize drug selling, it's a bill that lessens the punishment for the offenses. Subsequently, we're not reducing the cost (to our governments) at all, we're only shifting it to other areas, like policing, probation, and the courts.
I'm not saying that it's not a good 1st step in an approach to deal with an issue that we're failing at miserably. I am saying however, that it'll do nothing but blight already severely impacted neighborhoods further.
Dennis Plante Jordan
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