JUST SAY NO TO U.S.

Re Inmates face eye test for drugs, June 27.

So Ontario jails are buying into the latest anti-drug technology,
sophisticated eye scanners designed to detect inmate drug use.

Where does the technology come from? The United States, of course,
former land of the free and current record holder in citizens
incarcerated. A country founded on the concept of limited government
is using its superpower status to export a dangerous moral crusade
around the globe. The fact that the drug war cannot keep drugs out of
prisons, much less schools, is indicative of its inherent failure.

While schools in the United States are finally dropping the once
popular Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, Canadian schools are
just starting to implement it. The scare tactics used do more harm
than good. Students who realize they are being lied to about
marijuana often make the mistake of assuming that harder drugs are
relatively harmless as well. This is a recipe for disaster.

Another worrisome American import now being used in Canada is civil
asset forfeiture, in which financial incentives created for police
risk turning what should be protectors of the peace into predators.
Enough horror stories have arisen surrounding forfeiture in the U.S.
that the federal government had to step in to curb abuses. Despite
the modest reforms, the U.S. remains one of the most backward
countries in the world in terms of drug policy.

Canada should Just Say No to the American Inquisition.

Robert Sharpe

Program Officer
The Lindesmith Center
Drug Policy Foundation

Washington, D.C.