Pubdate: Wed, 27 May 2009
Source: Smoky River Express (CN AB)
Copyright: 2009 Smoky River Express.
Contact:  http://www.smokyriverexpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2446
Author: Susan Thompson
Cited: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition http://leap.cc/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Kerlikowske
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)

In Regards to Recent Concerns:

ARE WE LOOKING AT ALL SIDES OF DRUG ISSUE?

Drug use is clearly a major concern in our community, especially among parents.

There have been quite a few arrests for marijuana possession lately.

I also recently covered a parent-organized rally against drug use, 
and there have been a lot of concerned calls into the Express office, 
prompting many conversations about the issue among our staff.

At the risk of incurring the wrath of other parents and my editor, 
not to mention local law enforcement, I want to play devil's advocate 
for a moment.

Every issue has more than one side, and so far we've all been 
overlooking one of them. Does prohibition actually work? Does it make 
our kids safer?

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a group of cops and 
former cops, says that arresting and jailing drug users simply leads 
to more people in jail, not less use of drugs.

The cops in LEAP point to the $69 billion a year spent on the U.S. 
"War on Drugs," which has seen 37 million arrests of non-violent drug 
users and helped quadruple the percentage of the U.S. population in 
prison thanks to mandatory minimum sentences. Many of the cops in 
LEAP have been on the front lines of the "War on Drugs" themselves, 
and they say the U.S. seems no closer to ending drug use and abuse.

In fact, in a news item you may have missed, new U.S. drug czar Gil 
Kerlikowske just said he wants to banish the idea the U.S. is 
fighting a "War on Drugs," because a war on drugs is actually a war 
on the country's own citizens.

Kerlikowske, a former police chief himself, doesn't necessarily 
advocate legalization. However, there are some signs of change south 
of the border in actions as well as words. The Obama government has 
already decided to stop raiding medical marijuana dispensaries, for one.

This is important because Canada often takes its policy cues from the 
U.S., including our policies on drug use, especially since we've had 
to be sensitive for a long time to the American worry about our drugs 
crossing their borders.

If U.S. policy shifts, Canadian policy might well change too.

Marijuana is one drug in particular that LEAP believes should be 
legalized. Marijuana, usually simple possession, accounts for the 
majority of drug arrests.

LEAP argues marijuana is not even as dangerous as alcohol, so it 
makes no sense to keep it illegal.

When you think about it, alcohol versus marijuana is an interesting comparison.

Alcohol is clearly addictive for many people. Alcoholism is a real 
problem that destroys lives and families. Alcohol abuse destroys the 
body, killing brain cells, and punishing the liver. Withdrawals from 
alcohol are just as terrible as from any other addictive drug.

It's also easy to overdose on alcohol at any time, and we lose our 
kids to alcohol poisoning every year, not to mention drunk driving 
and drunk drivers. Drunk people can also easily become violent, as 
any cop can tell you.

Marijuana, on the other hand, doesn't make people violent when used 
alone. It is impossible or nearly impossible to overdose on, since 
there are as yet no confirmed deaths from its use. It can be used as 
a pain relief medicine. It's still uncertain whether it causes cancer 
like cigarettes do. It is also uncertain and controversial whether it 
actually is a "gateway" drug leading to harder drug use, as many people argue.

All of these facts, based on scientific study, have been published in 
the highly respected British medical journal the Lancet.

Marijuana can certainly cause dependence, but again, so can alcohol, 
and cigarettes, both legal if you're an adult.

So why are they legal while marijuana isn't?

Well, almost 75 years ago now, alcohol was in fact illegal. Concerned 
mothers rallied in the streets against its use. Police raided 
speakeasies that sold the stuff illegally.

Problem is, it didn't stop people from drinking it.

The real result, as we all know, was a healthy black market that 
packed the pockets of organized crime with cash, until our society 
realized that making it illegal simply didn't work.

In the end, it was better to make alcohol legal for adults, regulate 
it, and therefore keep it off the black market. This also produced a 
whole new source of tax revenue for our governments.

In fact, here in Alberta sin taxes just got raised again, making that 
case of beer even more expensive but helping cover the shortfall 
we're facing due to the recession.

Despite all its dangerous qualities, and that fact that underage kids 
often drink, no one is currently rallying against alcohol in our 
communities. No one argues for resuming prohibition of alcohol 
either, because at this point it's common knowledge that it doesn't work.

LEAP argues that if prohibition doesn't work for alcohol, why should 
we believe it works for drugs?

They also recommend an emphasis on treatment for addiction, rather 
than punishment, because they say treatment is more effective.

Of course, marijuana and drug use IS still illegal in Canada, and 
even if drugs were legalized, we wouldn't want our kids using them 
any more than we'd want them drinking before they were adults.

(Which, by the way, makes me wonder why we're so quick these days to 
give our kids all kinds of prescription drugs, from Ritalin to what 
have you, and to take them ourselves, when prescription drugs can 
also be abused and are often addictive. But I digress.)

All I'm saying is that if we're going to discuss drug abuse in our 
community, we should have a healthy debate about it that considers 
differing views.

If we do our research, we can also be more certain we're acting on 
facts, and not simply fear. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake