AVOID U.S. ANTI-DRUG STRATEGIES

Re: Canada's Drug Strategy A Failure, Report Claims

Dear Editor,

Canada's drug strategy will continue to fail so long as it's modeled
after the U.S. approach. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs
while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug
trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices
leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed
desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime; it fuels crime.
The good news is that Canada has already adopted many of the common
sense harm reduction interventions first pioneered in Europe. The bad
news is that Canada's southern neighbor continues to use its
superpower status to export a dangerous moral crusade around the globe.

The United States provides tragic examples of anti-drug strategies
that are best avoided. U.S. Centers for Disease Control researchers
estimate that 57 per cent of AIDS cases among women and 36 per cent of
overall AIDS cases in the U.S. are linked to injection drug use or sex
with partners who inject drugs. This easily preventable public health
crisis is a direct result of zero tolerance laws that restrict access
to clean syringes. Canada cannot afford to emulate the harm
maximization approach of the former land of the free and current
record holder in citizens incarcerated. Students who want to help
reform harmful drug laws should contact Students for Sensible Drug
Policy at http://www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com.

Robert Sharpe

MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy http://www.csdp.org

Washington, DC USA