SINGER PAGE VICTIM OF FLAWED SYSTEM

Barenaked Ladies lead singer Steven Page was arrested by police in
New York state late last week after allegedly being caught with a
substance that tested positive for cocaine.

Oh, the horror!

Page now faces drug charges and will have to go through a ridiculous
series of legal hoops that keep lawyers in business and do nothing to
benefit the public at large, other than to give us a little
entertainment for a few days until someone else famous gets caught
with an illegal substance.

The hatchet job on Page has started already. Newspaper stories this
week reported that fans are "shocked" and "disappointed" upon hearing
the news. Media outlets are playing up the fact that the Barenaked
Ladies recently released a children's album, and are due to perform
at a children's-themed event in Long Island, N.Y., next month.

The insinuation, of course, is that Page is now somehow a negative
influence on kids because he allegedly possessed a recreational drug,
and that he's a hypocrite for singing children's songs in public and
allegedly possessing drugs in private.

What a pile of horse dung.

The media circus now surrounding Page is nothing but a smear campaign
perpetrated by the defenders of North America's nonsensical drug laws.

The trend echoes the same one that reared its ugly head during
prohibition of alcohol in the U.S. and also in Canada's prairie
provinces in the early 20th century. Drinkers were labeled as social
deviants, whose morals were corroded with every drop of booze they consumed.

Those who drank were mean, dishonest, and irresponsible. Dads who
enjoyed alcohol were branded as unfit fathers. Many a citizen was
shamed publicly by the media and the legal system if caught imbibing,
and all in the name of a silly temperance movement that caused more
problems than it claimed it was solving.

Page finds himself caught in the same witch hunt, only our present
version of Prohibition targets the supposedly dangerous,
irresponsible, deviant citizens of North America who enjoy
recreational drugs in private.

It's no secret that Canadian and American drug laws are a complete
failure. The result of drug prohibition in America has resulted in
overcrowded prisons, countless ruined lives, and millions of wasted
taxpayer dollars.

As Dr. Diane Riley of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy notes,
drug prohibition has led to the worldwide illegal drug industry
growing to an estimated annual worth of $400 billion, "fueling
organized crime, corrupting governments, increasing violence and
distorting economic markets. In many parts of the world, the war on
drugs results in the spread of infections (e.g. HIV), violations of
human rights, damaged environments and prisons filled with drug
offenders convicted of simple possession."

Criminalizing drug use has done nothing to prevent crime or reduce
their use. There's actually ample evidence out there to suggest drug
prohibition actually increases drug abuse, rather than reducing it.

Still, citizens are told that drug prohibition is a good thing. It
protects us and our children, we're told by lazy politicians and law
enforcement officials whose job it is to maintain the status quo.

Sadly, people like Page are caught in this system and have their
lives and careers potentially damaged for no good reason.

According to the official police story, Page and two women were
allegedly caught with cocaine in a New York apartment after officers
discovered a car with an open door in the driveway of a home. While
investigating the vehicle, officers said they observed a man and a
woman sitting inside an apartment with a "white capsule" before them.

How these police officers went from investigating a car to apparently
peering through people's apartment windows is so far unclear. Page
has plead not guilty and is scheduled to appear in an American court
at the end of August.

With any luck, the charges will be dropped. Celebrities often get off
easy when it comes to drug charges, which highlights even more the
inequality that results from the system of drug prohibition that's in place.

Even if he is cleared of all charges or let off with a slap on the
wrist, the damage to Page's career could be irreparable. Drug
prohibition proponents have been successful in painting anyone
associated with drugs as social pariahs, and many citizens still buy
into this false and dishonest message.

Still, there is hope. Support for an end to drug prohibition is
mounting. Columnists like the Ontario-based Gwynne Dyer have called
for the legalization of all drugs. In fact, Dyer estimates that the
current system of drug prohibition will end within the next five
decades, as policy makers slowly realize the current system cannot
possibly be maintained.

In the mean time, people like Page will continue to be wrapped up in
ridiculous legal messes while taxpayers fund legal systems and police
agencies that keep drug prohibition alive.