LOSING THE BORDER WAR ON DRUGS

U.S., Canadian mayors demand a new approach

(AP) SEATTLE - United States and Canadian city officials are in
agreement that the war on drugs has been a dismal failure on both
sides of the border and new strategies need to be considered.

"We can't afford the police, we can't afford the jail time, and we
can't afford the costs," Seattle Mayor Paul Schell told a Cascadia
Mayors' council here Tuesday, which included Vancouver, British
Columbia, Mayor Philip Owen.

But Schell added he didn't want to "inflame the situation" by
suggesting that drug use be decriminalized.

Before becoming mayor last year, Schell was an advocate of Western
Europe-style open borders between the U.S. and Canada. but the drug
trafficking along the I-5 corridor has posed a major obstacle.

Owen estimated about 5,000 addicts in Vancouver spend some $1.5
million (Canadian) each day to support their habit. He noted that
British Columbia grows high quality marijuana, much of which is
smuggled across the border.

Some of it is exchanged for heroin, which is smuggled back into
Canada, he said.

Owen noted that the treatment of drug users in British Columbia has
been shortchanged while money is poured in law enforcement.

He said he is developing a "holistic approach, a continuum of care"
toward the drug problem. The strategy would include teaching children
about drug dangers from their earliest schooling and expanding
treatment for addicts who want to kick the habit, he said.

But he said Vancouver was not ready to adopt Switzerland's model of
heroin maintenance, whereby addicts are supplied with the drug so the
business is kept out of criminals' hands.

Vancouver will be tougher with major traffickers, giving them
mandatory 25-years-to-life terms, he said.

On the issue of guns and crime, also main topics of discussion at the
conference, several U.S. officials voiced envy of their counterparts
in Canada, where gun laws are much stricter.

"You don't have to go to Asia to experience a lower crime rate," said
Bellingham Police Chief Don Pierce. "Just cross the border."

Schell wondered whether U.S. mayors might take the lead in
distributing gun locks to cut down on misuse of firearms by children.

But Portland Police chief Charles Moose said gun locks should be
provided by gun manufacturers, not cities' general funds. He suggested
Northwest cities join New Orleans, which has sued gun manufacturers to
recover costs of gun-related violence.

The Cascadia Mayors' Council is the latest step in an eight-year
effort by government officials, business groups and regional think
tanks to promote cross-border cooperation.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady