NEW APPROACH NEEDED AS WAR ON DRUGS FLOUNDERS

We Have Lost The War On Drugs.

Our punitive approach to illicit drug use is outdated, expensive and wastes
the valuable time of our law enforcement agencies, criminal courts and
penal institutions.

It has made Vancouver notorious for its high rate of drug-related deaths,
HIV infection, and crime. Against a backdrop of limited resources and
increased demands, especially after Sept. 11, it is crucial that we find a
better way to reduce consumption, neutralize organized crime gangs and
prevent people from slipping into the life destroying spiral of addiction.

Each year, more than $400 million is spent on drug-related law enforcement
in Canada. Although this figure is for all illicit drugs, a 1999 Statistics
Canada report showed that 75 per cent of drug-related criminal charges are
connected with marijuana. Half of these were for simple possession. Thus,
decriminalizing marijuana possession could save us approximately $150
million every year.

Many police groups recognize this and support decriminalization. The
Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) calls for the
"establishment of alternative justice measures . . . for summary conviction
offences of the possession of cannabis," and suggests a system of fines.

The RCMP has made similar overtures, with certain caveats. These include
reducing demand for marijuana through prevention and education programs,
and the need to incorporate tools into the justice system to help those who
have become drug dependent.

My private member's bill,

C-344, introduced this year, calls for the decriminalization of simple
marijuana possession. However, this is only the first step in a
comprehensive plan that will reduce substance abuse in Canada. The bill
sets fines for the possession of marijuana: $200 for a first offence, $500
for the second and $1,000 for subsequent offences.

The fines act as a deterrent and allow simple possession to be dealt with
effectively and cheaply outside the Criminal Code.

More than 600,000 Canadians have a record because they were caught with a
small amount of pot. This makes it extremely difficult to pursue certain
careers, and to travel. In this sense, the current law stifles ambition and
economic performance, for getting caught will severely compromise a
person's future career opportunities.

As The Journal of the Canadian Medical Association states: "The real harm
is the legal and social fallout . . . this means that . . . the question
'Have you ever had a criminal conviction?' during a job application or a
medical school interview can force higher aspirations to go up in smoke."

Some critics argue marijuana draws users down a slippery slope of hard drug
abuse. However, experiences from countries that have decriminalized
marijuana seem to dispel this myth.

In the Netherlands, where they have set up a framework separating the
markets of soft and hard drugs and allow people to use marijuana within a
controlled environment, 18 per cent of the population uses the drug,
compared with 23 per cent in Canada and 36 per cent in the U.S. In the
Netherlands, 2.4 per cent of people have used cocaine. In Canada, this
figure is 3.8 per cent and in the U.S., it is an astounding 12 per cent.
While nearly one per cent of Americans have used heroin, in Holland only
0.2 percent of people have ever used the drug.

In Holland, drug overdoses and the number of intravenous drug users
infected with HIV are much lower. There are around 40 drug-related deaths
in Holland every year, from a total population of 16 million. In Canada, a
country of about 30 million, this figure is around 730.

Support for the decriminalization of marijuana can be found in many areas,
most importantly in the public. Polls repeatedly show that up to 75 per
cent of Canadians support decriminalization. Even Anne McLellan, our
Justice Minister, has welcomed a "larger debate about how we should deal
with certain aspects of the possession and use of drugs."

Decriminalization, however, must be part of a larger, more comprehensive
plan that adopts new approaches to prevention, treatment and legislation to
go after organized crime gangs and international drug traffickers.

In 1998, the House of Commons passed a motion calling for a national Head
Start program. This program strengthens the parent-child bond, ensures that
children have their basic needs met and teaches simple parenting skills. It
has been copied in Michigan, Hawaii and a smattering of other places
nationwide. In those experiences, child abuse and youth crime rates have
plummeted, kids stay in school longer, there is less welfare dependency and
less drug use. Savings to the taxpayer were seven dollars for every dollar
spent.

We must also take a tough line against the real villains, those who supply,
traffic and produce illicit drugs. RICO, (Racketeer Influenced and
Corruption Organization) legislation, if adopted, will enable us to hit
organized crime gangs hard by freezing and apprehending their financial assets.

The war against drugs is lost, and we must change our approach. Tackling
the issue from the source country alone, as we have tried in Colombia, does
not work. The punitive methods we have employed for so long only help to
keep corruption, crime and disease rates intolerably high.

We have to look at our own system of drug laws, enforcement and treatment,
and find ways to decrease consumption. After all, if there were no demand
for illicit drugs, there would be no need for supply.

The time has come to have an intelligent and responsible debate on the
issue of drug use in Canada. We must shift the focus of enforcement onto
those who traffic and import all illicit drugs.

Bill C-344 is a first step that will help us to use our limited resources
more wisely without condoning illicit drug use. It will reduce harm across
the societal scale: individuals battling substance abuse, the kids in our
schools and drug-related scourges such as AIDS, crime, unemployment and
property devaluation.

With international support, we can instigate a new war on drugs, one that
will not fail the society of today, or tomorrow.

Dr. Keith Martin (CA-Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca) was former Critic of
International Human Rights and Health for the Reform Party, and has sat in
the House of Commons since 1993.