Pubdate: Wed, 19 Dec 2001
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2001 Calgary Herald
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Authors: Dr. Keith Martin, MP, and Kerrie Woods, Calgary Herald

NEW APPROACH NEEDED AS WAR ON DRUGS FLOUNDERS

We Have Lost The War On Drugs.

Our punitive approach to illicit drug use is outdated, expensive and wastes 
the valuable time of our law enforcement agencies, criminal courts and 
penal institutions.

It has made Vancouver notorious for its high rate of drug-related deaths, 
HIV infection, and crime. Against a backdrop of limited resources and 
increased demands, especially after Sept. 11, it is crucial that we find a 
better way to reduce consumption, neutralize organized crime gangs and 
prevent people from slipping into the life destroying spiral of addiction.

Each year, more than $400 million is spent on drug-related law enforcement 
in Canada. Although this figure is for all illicit drugs, a 1999 Statistics 
Canada report showed that 75 per cent of drug-related criminal charges are 
connected with marijuana. Half of these were for simple possession. Thus, 
decriminalizing marijuana possession could save us approximately $150 
million every year.

Many police groups recognize this and support decriminalization. The 
Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) calls for the 
"establishment of alternative justice measures . . . for summary conviction 
offences of the possession of cannabis," and suggests a system of fines.

The RCMP has made similar overtures, with certain caveats. These include 
reducing demand for marijuana through prevention and education programs, 
and the need to incorporate tools into the justice system to help those who 
have become drug dependent.

My private member's bill,

C-344, introduced this year, calls for the decriminalization of simple 
marijuana possession. However, this is only the first step in a 
comprehensive plan that will reduce substance abuse in Canada. The bill 
sets fines for the possession of marijuana: $200 for a first offence, $500 
for the second and $1,000 for subsequent offences.

The fines act as a deterrent and allow simple possession to be dealt with 
effectively and cheaply outside the Criminal Code.

More than 600,000 Canadians have a record because they were caught with a 
small amount of pot. This makes it extremely difficult to pursue certain 
careers, and to travel. In this sense, the current law stifles ambition and 
economic performance, for getting caught will severely compromise a 
person's future career opportunities.

As The Journal of the Canadian Medical Association states: "The real harm 
is the legal and social fallout . . . this means that . . . the question 
'Have you ever had a criminal conviction?' during a job application or a 
medical school interview can force higher aspirations to go up in smoke."

Some critics argue marijuana draws users down a slippery slope of hard drug 
abuse. However, experiences from countries that have decriminalized 
marijuana seem to dispel this myth.

In the Netherlands, where they have set up a framework separating the 
markets of soft and hard drugs and allow people to use marijuana within a 
controlled environment, 18 per cent of the population uses the drug, 
compared with 23 per cent in Canada and 36 per cent in the U.S. In the 
Netherlands, 2.4 per cent of people have used cocaine. In Canada, this 
figure is 3.8 per cent and in the U.S., it is an astounding 12 per cent. 
While nearly one per cent of Americans have used heroin, in Holland only 
0.2 percent of people have ever used the drug.

In Holland, drug overdoses and the number of intravenous drug users 
infected with HIV are much lower. There are around 40 drug-related deaths 
in Holland every year, from a total population of 16 million. In Canada, a 
country of about 30 million, this figure is around 730.

Support for the decriminalization of marijuana can be found in many areas, 
most importantly in the public. Polls repeatedly show that up to 75 per 
cent of Canadians support decriminalization. Even Anne McLellan, our 
Justice Minister, has welcomed a "larger debate about how we should deal 
with certain aspects of the possession and use of drugs."

Decriminalization, however, must be part of a larger, more comprehensive 
plan that adopts new approaches to prevention, treatment and legislation to 
go after organized crime gangs and international drug traffickers.

In 1998, the House of Commons passed a motion calling for a national Head 
Start program. This program strengthens the parent-child bond, ensures that 
children have their basic needs met and teaches simple parenting skills. It 
has been copied in Michigan, Hawaii and a smattering of other places 
nationwide. In those experiences, child abuse and youth crime rates have 
plummeted, kids stay in school longer, there is less welfare dependency and 
less drug use. Savings to the taxpayer were seven dollars for every dollar 
spent.

We must also take a tough line against the real villains, those who supply, 
traffic and produce illicit drugs. RICO, (Racketeer Influenced and 
Corruption Organization) legislation, if adopted, will enable us to hit 
organized crime gangs hard by freezing and apprehending their financial assets.

The war against drugs is lost, and we must change our approach. Tackling 
the issue from the source country alone, as we have tried in Colombia, does 
not work. The punitive methods we have employed for so long only help to 
keep corruption, crime and disease rates intolerably high.

We have to look at our own system of drug laws, enforcement and treatment, 
and find ways to decrease consumption. After all, if there were no demand 
for illicit drugs, there would be no need for supply.

The time has come to have an intelligent and responsible debate on the 
issue of drug use in Canada. We must shift the focus of enforcement onto 
those who traffic and import all illicit drugs.

Bill C-344 is a first step that will help us to use our limited resources 
more wisely without condoning illicit drug use. It will reduce harm across 
the societal scale: individuals battling substance abuse, the kids in our 
schools and drug-related scourges such as AIDS, crime, unemployment and 
property devaluation.

With international support, we can instigate a new war on drugs, one that 
will not fail the society of today, or tomorrow.

Dr. Keith Martin (CA-Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca) was former Critic of 
International Human Rights and Health for the Reform Party, and has sat in 
the House of Commons since 1993.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom