POLICE-STATE APPROACH DOESN'T WORK

It would be a mistake to assume that the police state approach to
public health problems works.

Here in the United States, drug-sniffing dogs and random drug testing
in schools have led to a loss of civil liberties, while failing
miserably at preventing drug use.

Marijuana use is higher in the U.S. than any European country, yet
America is one of the few western countries that punish citizens who
prefer marijuana to martinis.

Thanks to the war on some drugs, Canada's southern neighbour now has
the highest incarceration rate in the world.

The drug war is a cultural inquisition, not a public health campaign.

Jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective
as deterrents.

Can Canada afford to emulate the harm maximization approach of the
former land of the free and current record holder in citizens incarcerated?

Robert Sharpe, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C.