Canada - Call a truce in the war on drugs

S.J.B.

S.J.B.

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Call a truce in the war on drugs
Daniel Bear
The Globe and Mail
August 14th, 2015

Crack down on drug labs, put heroin users at unnecessary risk and maintain strict prohibition of cannabis. These are the core values of the Conservatives’ recently announced drug policies set to be enacted if they are re-elected. This tough-on-drugs message is as outdated as it is uninformed by the scientific evidence.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is adamant that cannabis should remain an illegal drug because he believes it to be very dangerous. The science says otherwise, and we know that there are very limited dangers associated with cannabis. As a society we are well versed in taxing, regulating and educating the public about all manner of substances found to be far more dangerous than cannabis.

It is time to acknowledge the scientific evidence and enact cannabis policies appropriate to its risks. Even the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police wants to see cannabis decriminalized, but Mr. Harper has ignored their proposal. We cut smoking rates through public education, not prohibition.

Mr. Harper also claims that the regulation of cannabis in Colorado, and decriminalization of drugs in Portugal, has had disastrous results. This is simply not the case. While there was an unsurprising increase in the number of individuals of all ages using cannabis after legalization in Colorado, the use of other drugs continued to decline, tax revenue streamed in and crime rates fell.

Portugal has had incredible results after implementing its drug decriminalization program. The use of heroin is down dramatically in young people, as are deaths from opiate overdose, a problem currently vexing Canada and the United States. Portugal has succeeded because they treat drug abuse as a health problem, not simply a criminal justice problem.
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I will never understand how or why ignorance and arrogance run the majority of the world.
If knowledge is power and the application of knowledge is intelligence then why do we, as a race(human), keep allowing ourselves to be ruled by those who dont see our existence as a group effort.
I laugh to keep from crying on a daily basis.
 
this country has always had a pretty strong Puritan vibe reverberating through it. it's not so much about protectionism and profits as it is about a holy crusade to remove the scourge of all drugs from society.

take the situation with tobacco, for instance. tobacco companies cannot advertise, they cannot even sponsor events. tobacco cannot be openly sold, the products must be hidden behind opaque shutters in the shops. it's almost like it's actually outlawed.

it's a similar story with alcohol. there are advertising restrictions and the majority of alcohol in this country is still bought at stores owned by Crown corporations. the clerks there even do double duty as morality police, refusing sale to anyone who is trying to buy alcohol while noticeably drunk.
 
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