"Jim Anderton needs to take a different approach to the use of drugs if he wants to minimise the harm to children and others," said Libertarianz health deregulation spokesman Dr Richard McGrath.

"There will always be a demand for mind-altering substances by people who enjoy taking them," said Dr McGrath. "Making them illegal marginalises the people who use them, drives the price of the drugs up and ensures that their distribution will be dominated by organised criminal syndicates.

"Mr Anderton probably means well, but New Zealand should take a lesson from the United States and their ill-conceived War On Drugs which has cost thousand of lives and been an abject failure.

"Libertarianz believe an adult should be free to use whatever drug he chooses - caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, opiates, amphetamines, tranquillisers, whatever - as long as he or she does not harm others through the use of aggressive force, or through neglect if the adult has a duty of care to someone such as a child.

"There is a growing lobby of doctors and counsellors within addiction treatment services, myself included, that support the legalisation of all drugs as consistent with the prevailing model of reducing the harm to drug users and their families," Dr McGrath added.

Libertarianz MPs would support any move toward the legalisation of all psychoactive substances, believing that a person's body is theirs alone and that the government should not dictate to anyone what they can and cannot put into it.

ENDS

Dr Richard McGrath
Libertarianz Deputy Leader
* Fax 06 377 3070 * Phone 025 2300 868 *
mcgrath@no-income-tax.com

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