Drug Wars

Look at the ramifications of legalizing drugs before dismissing the idea outright.

No issue makes it more apparent that reasonable people can disagree then the legalization of drugs.

Surgeon General Dr. Joyceln Elders hit a nerve last week when she recommended that drug legalization ought to be studied. Her Republican critics were quick to respond. Senator Bob Dole, for example, said Americans must be wondering if the Surgeon General is hazardous to their health.

But Elder's remarks were not exactly a wholehearted endorsement of the idea. "I do feel we would markedly reduce our crime rate if drugs were legalized. But I don't know all the ramifications of this. I do feel we need to do some studies," she said. Other countries that have legalized drugs, she said, have decreased the rate of crime without increasing the rate of drug use.

No responsible participants in the debate are suggesting that drugs ought to be legalized because they are harmless. Advocates of legalization argue, however, that it is not the role of the already- burdened criminal justice system to keep people from injuring themselves. By removing the criminal penalties for drug use, they argue, criminals would be eliminated from the drugs scene, as would the violence associated with drug trafficking.

Peter Christ, a retired police captain and local advocate of drugs legalization, asks whether people would rather try to save everyone from their own bad choices or make the streets safer for law abiding citizens. More drug-related homicides are related to drug trafficking than people acting under the influence of drugs, he says. If children in the nation's largest cities would be able to walk outdoors without fear of being shot, if residents of some of Syracuse's worst neighborhoods could claim their streets back from drug dealers, why not eliminate drug laws?

Legalizing drugs, Christ argues, would not have to send the message that drug use is acceptable. Education and societal attitudes are powerful deterrents-witness the dramatic drop in the number of alcohol-related accidents in the past decade or so.

But John Duncan, an assistant U.S. attorney in Syracuse and chairman of the City of Syracuse- County of Onondaga Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission, believes otherwise. The simple fact the drugs are illegal as a deterrent, he says.

It is only speculation that the crime rate would go down if drugs were legalized, he believes. Many crimes are committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol. And unless drugs were handed out free of charge, unemployable addicts would still need to turn to criminal activity to support their habit.

Law enforcement serves a practical function as well, he says. The greatest number of referrals for treatment locally come through the criminal justice system. People often fail to seek treatment on their own -and who would refer them for treatment, Duncan asks, if drugs were legalized?

Without solid and convincing evidence that it would bring tangible benefits, legalization is unlikely with much widespread support. A survey two years ago of Onondaga County residents showed overwhelming anti-drug sentiments: 81 percent did not want to be associated with drug users.

But Elders deserves praise, not condemnation, for having the courage to tackle a difficult issue. It is foolish to seize on the idea of drug legalization as the elusive cure to a society's ills. The reasons people become drug addicts are as complicated as the reasons people turn to crime. But it is equally foolish to ignore the legalization question. The dimensions of the crime problem require an honest look at all possible solutions

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