Pubdate: Tue, 15 Nov 2005
Source: Ubyssey (CN BC Edu)
Contact:  http://www.ubyssey.bc.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/706
Author: Munisha Tumato, News Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction)

LEGALITIES OF LEGALISED DRUGS

A new study to be presented in the House of Commons could add a little
more fuel to the already sparking debate around the legalisation of
drugs in Canada.

The study, recently released by the Health Officers council of BC,
recommends that "hard" drugs such as heroine and cocaine be legalised
in a regulated, not for profit manner. It supports putting drug
manufacture and distribution into a public health framework rather
than an illegal one, with the goal of reducing harm to both addicts
and society at large.

Richard Mathias, a professor of public health at UBC and a specialist
in community medicine, is also one of the authors of the study. He
believes that a prohibitionist approach to drugs does more harm than
good. "All prohibition does is encourage people to take great risks
for great rewards," he said.

However, Mathias thinks the implications of the term 'legalisation'
poses problems. "Legalisation does not equal free market, and we are
not in any way proposing a free market."

Instead, the study proposes that a regulatory body that isn't
motivated by profit, oversee the making and selling of the substances.

The study also says that regulated legalisation would help solve some
of the current safety issues around drug use. Controlling the
production of these drugs would regulate what goes into the drugs and
help reduce the risk of overdosing because the concentration of the
drug would be clearly labeled.

Rehabilitation, said Mathias, is the solution to drug addiction.
"Rehabilitation is to try and get people, even with their addiction,
up and running so that it will help them function as well as they
can," said Mathias.

"When they decide that they need to get rid of their addiction then we
have to have treatment available then, that day, that hour," he said.

There is strong opposition to the study's recommendations, however.
Sgt. Toby Hinton, representative of Odd Squad Productions and longtime
police officer in the Downtown Eastside, doesn't believe that
legalisation will solve the problem. Prohibition is not the cause of
the problem, it is drug addiction itself, he said.

Sgt Hinton agrees that rehabilitation is a solution, but he thinks
that the illegality of drugs and the enforcement of anti-drug laws
also go a long way in helping control the problem.

Instead of helping with drug related problems, Hinton believes that
the legalisation of hard drugs will result in more problems for police
officers.

"If you're going to legalise these [hard] drugs you better be ready to
hire more police officers, just based on our experience with alcohol.
The societal demands on policing will be higher and there will be more
crimes with drugs as a factor than there were before," he said.
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