At 04:47 PM 8/22/97 +0200, Alex Le Heux wrote:
I Switserland they've gone even further now, and started supplying hardcore herion addicts with free heroin. The results were quite dramatic. Most of the addicts gave up stealing/etc and some even managed to get and hold a normal job. As it turned out, supplying them with free heroin was much cheaper than having them hang around and steal/rob/etc. It also served to reduce the call for extra police, and the call by the police for more rights/weapons/etc.
Of course there is another solution: legalize drugs. The reason why addicts have to steal to support their habit is that the costs of narcotics have been artificially inflated due to prohibition. Medical cocaine wholesales at about $0.50 per gramm. Heroin should be in the same price range. Nobody would have to steal to come up with a few dollars a day. As ususal, the government created the problem and then proudly comes up with a solution involving even more government. As the case is in Switzerland. First they make it too expensive to buy and then they discover they have to give it away to reduce the negative consequences of a situation they created in the first place. --Lucky Green <shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred. DES is dead! Please join in breaking RC5-56. http://rc5.distributed.net/