CAN CANADA AFFORD TO FOLLOW THE U.S.?

Dear Editor:
Regarding Art Hanger's May 14 op-ed piece, "Basic logic escapes six
justices in two drug dog cases". 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 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 United States 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.

Criminal records 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.