U.S. DRUG CZAR LACKS CREDIBILITY

U.S. drug czar John Walters is the public face of America's war on
drugs -- a debacle that has imprisoned staggering numbers of
Americans with no upside in sight.

His visit to Canada last week was an unsettling reminder of the deep
divide over drug policy between blinkered political ideology and
long-established science.

Walters is fond of claiming marijuana is a dangerous drug and that
most addicts are hooked on pot.

He popped north of the border to pat the Harper government on the
back for its "co-operation" on the anti-drug front.

And he made the peculiar declaration -- with no context -- that there
are more American teens seeking treatment for marijuana dependency
than any other drugs, including booze.

Walters made it sound like there are hundreds of thousands of U.S.
teens who can't get through the day without a couple of joints.

It's great for whipping up anti-pot hysteria, but the truth is rather
banal, says Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the
New York-based Drug Policy Alliance.

Yes, most people in drug treatment in the U.S. are there for using
pot, he says. But most of them are in treatment not because they're
addicted to pot, but because they got caught toking up by the cops or
school officials or their employers.

For most of them, going for help was the only alternative to jail,
being booted out of school or losing their jobs, says Nadelmann.

Walters also reiterated his displeasure at the flow of so-called B.C.
bud to the U.S. What he neglected to mention is that Canada plays an
infinitesimal role in feeding the appetite of U.S. potheads. Most of
the marijuana available in the U.S. is produced domestically or
imported from Mexico.

So how credible is Walters, the director of U.S. National Drug
Control Policy, in helping shape effective anti-drug strategies and
winning over the public?

Well, you be the judge. Let the facts speak for themselves. In 1980,
there were 50,000 people in jail in the U.S. for non-violent drug
offences. Now, there are almost 500,000 in prison.

"My message for Canadians is if you want to look south, the thing to
keep in mind is that the dominant context of American drug policy is
arrest and incarceration," says Nadelmann.

Like Canada, the U.S. spends three-quarters of its drug war resources
on policing, prosecution and prisons.

Of the $368 million spent in Canada in 2004-05 on fighting illicit
drugs, only $51 million went to treatment programs and only $10
million each was targeted at harm-reduction and prevention initiatives.

Similarly, drug treatment is badly underfunded in America. Health
professionals estimate that only one in 10 people receive the
treatment they need, according to the U.S. Drug Policy Alliance.

Ironically, while the Harper government plans tougher sentences for
drug offenders, individual U.S. states are thumbing their noses at
Washington and liberalizing their drug laws.

Over the past decade, more than 150 drug-policy reforms have been
enacted by voters and legislators in 46 states. The changes include
allowing people to grow and use pot for medical purposes and
diverting non-violent drug offenders from prison into treatment.

"These (reforms) are bubbling up all across the country," says Nadelmann.

Walters may be Uncle Sam's top drug prohibitionist, but it seems
Americans are increasingly tuning him out.