NO WAY TO FIGHT DRUGS

IT WOULD BE a mistake to assume the police state approach to public
health problems works. Where I live, in the United States,
drug-sniffing dogs in schools and random drug testing 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.

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.