Pubdate: Fri, 03 Mar 2017
Source: Medicine Hat News (CN AB)
Copyright: 2017 Alberta Newspaper Group, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.medicinehatnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1833
Author: Gillian Slade
Page: A11

STIFFER SENTENCES FOR DRUG DEALERS

An initiative to address the proliferation of illicit opioids was
announced by Crime Stoppers in Ontario this week. They promised a cash
reward for information leading to a seizure of drugs and/or the arrest
of a trafficker.

Other parts of Ontario have also tried this. Some declared the program
a "success" having paid two rewards for about 12 tips.

We have not seen a reduction in the number of opioid overdoses. In
fact the opposite is true.

Tips leading to the conviction of a drug trafficker or two is good but
will likely not put them out of business. Others will fill their
place. It is time for stiffer sentences that really will be a deterrent.

In Singapore, where capital punishment is the penalty for drug
trafficking, there were 54 executions in 1994. The number then dropped
drastically and has been zero for the last decade or so. Even foreign
nationals are not exempt from the punishment. About 43 per cent of
executions in Saudi Arabia in 2015 were for drug trafficking.

If you feel capital punishment is too harsh it may be worth talking to
the families of those who died from an illicit drug overdose. Their
loved one is dead and the traffickers continuing making money. For
drug addicts who survive and enter a rehabilitation program former
drug traffickers are lurking in the background ready to supply more
drugs.

Convicting one trafficker may theoretically mean reducing the number
of illicit drug deaths but others soon fill the gap. It just keeps
going like a battery operated bunny.

An officer in Ontario told media this week they have audio recordings
of traffickers saying the enormous profits they make from illicit
fentanyl far outweighs the potential overdose deaths that are likely
to occur. In other words the lives of their customers are worthless.

A fine after conviction is no deterrent at all. Traffickers have
plenty of money. Incarceration is just a little hiccup.

If not capital punishment then 50 lashes. Either that or we make all
drugs available through a pharmacy without prescription. The profits
made from the sale of these drugs can go towards rehabilitation programs.

We also need a better tracking system for our approach to addressing
illicit drugs use. In Alberta we currently count the number of
Naloxone kits (the antidote for an overdose) that are distributed as
the measure of success in combating illicit drugs and overdoses.
Naloxone is important in savings lives but it should not be our sole
focus. It is true the number of Naloxone kits used indicates lives
potentially saved but it is becoming clear the same person may
need/use Naloxone again and again. Nearly dying from an overdose is
not enough to keep someone from doing drugs again. It may, in some
cases, even be facilitating drug use.

We are simply addressing the symptoms rather than the cause. We need
tools that will see drug traffickers fleeing our country like they
have from Singapore.
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MAP posted-by: Matt