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Physiology and Health

Crack Cocaine, government cheques

The Best Prescription: "Farm Work"

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

February 10, 2002

This week I want to see if I'm out in left field or if other Canadians share my opinion. That the best medical prescription for some people is "farm work".

Several of my patients who work in women's hostels say they enjoy helping the disadvantaged and new immigrants to Canada. But the resident women on crack cocaine irritate them.

The hostels, they say, harbour women who receive hundreds of government dollars every month. But as soon as their cheques arrive they are out on the street buying more crack cocaine.

My patients complain that due to government cutbacks fewer people are employed to keep the facility clean. This means an increased work load for them to clean up after the residents.

I asked them, "Why can't the women on crack cocaine help by maintaining their own rooms and other parts of the building? You tell me they have nothing to do all day."

"They won't do it" they reply. "They claim it isn't their responsibility and they have their rights. In fact, they swear at us and threaten to sue if we don't quickly respond to their demands. They are very lazy."

One would think that anyone with an ounce of brain tissue could see that something is wrong with this picture. I fail to comprehend why taxpayers should supply crack cocaine to those who are able but refuse to pick up after themselves. Besides, this policy is a terrible medical prescription.

An even greater tragedy is that some of these women on crack cocaine are pregnant. Being born with a mother on crack cocaine is one problem. Being born with a brain damaged by crack cocaine is another. Surely unborn babies also have their rights. This concept, "I've got my rights", has gone berserk.

A trainload of social workers and millions of tax dollars will never solve this problem. My medical prescription for these women, and men too, would be tough farm work for a year. An honest day's labour, day after day, might give them a fighting chance for medical recovery.

Now more than ever, doctors are advising patients that increased physical activity is healthful. For one thing it triggers the formation of endorphins, a morphine-like substance. This is why joggers and others feel so good after a hard work-out. Not to mention the cardiovascular and other benefits of exercise.

My informants tell me what everyone else in the city knows. Pushers sell crack cocaine in broad daylight. Why do police allow this to happen? Do pushers also have their "rights"?

This medical scenario would not happen in Singapore. Some readers may recall that I visited that country several years ago. I refuse to believe do-gooders who preach that tough laws do not deter crime. Singapore proves them wrong.

"Death to drug dealers" is stamped on Immigration cards handed to travellers arriving in Singapore. In that city you can walk the streets at night without fear. No one ever approaches you to sell illegal drugs. And Singapore has not increased the size of its police force for 30 years.

Aristotle was right when he proclaimed that "Punishment is a form of medicine." Just 5 percent of those who commit a crime in Singapore ever do so again. They never forget the pain of being punished by the ratan cane. 99 percent of readers who responded to that column agreed we should follow Singapore's 95 percent solution by using a tougher and immediate penalty.

Democracy is the best form of government. But our namby-pamby approach to both drug dealers and cocaine users is what Singapore officials label as being "Irresponsibly Permissive".

Surely when democracy loses common sense and allows drugs to infect so many segments of society including the unborn, strong medicine is required to eradicate it. Isn't it time that politicians, lawyers and judges wrote a legal prescription, "Death to Drug Pushers."?

So what do you think about handing the able-bodied "druggie" whether male or female a prescription for farm work? Or am I alone out here?


W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones
Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod