THE PRESS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1978. Death-blow to drug dealing
By almost anyone’s standards, including probably the standards of those who crave what they supply, dealers in hard drugs are among the least desirable persons in the community Their activities promote personal and social degeneration and provoke crime by the addicts who must pay to provide their enormous profits But the problems of addiction to illegal drugs will not be solved by imposing a mandatory death sentence on people who are caught trafficking in drugs. The most that could be expected from imposing such a penalty would be that some, probably the smaller and more vulnerable, traffickers would be deterred from supplying the New Zealand market for hard drugs. But success in the war against hard drugs can only be expected when those in authority address themselves to eliminating the reasons for the demand for such drugs as well as to drying up the source of supply.
Curbing the supply of hard drugs by tightening up on the detection of smuggling and by imposing adequately
deterring punishments on those who are caught bringing drugs into the country, or on those who make profits from selling them here will go some way to solving the problem. While there is no call for the death penalty, it may well be proper to regard trafficking in drugs as a crime on a par with murder. In its effects it is akin to that crime, especially when drugs have been urged on eventual victims to create or sustain a market It might well be proper to increase the penalties for the crime accordingly. At present the maximum penalty is the same as that for attempted murder. But first the dealers and promoters of hard drugs must be caught and convicted. No less attention should be given to destroying their market. A death-blow to much trafficking might be struck by allowing addicts to register and secure the drugs they crave from regulated sources. This is what the law enables in Britain. The task of helping, and rehabilitating addicts would be made easier. Only the profiteers would be hurt.
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Press, 15 March 1978, Page 16
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353THE PRESS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1978. Death-blow to drug dealing Press, 15 March 1978, Page 16
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