Decriminalize drugs for personal use, lawyer urges

Prohibition causes drug trade's corruption, violence, conference told

By Jeremy Mercer, The Ottawa Citizen

Calling the fear of illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine and heroin
"hysterical thinking," an Ottawa lawyer is calling on Canadian lawmakers to
decriminalize all drugs for personal use.

"Canada's drug policies are extraordinarily destructive and actually
increase the problems associated with drugs instead of diminishing them,"
says Eugene Oscapella.

"There are people out there who have a very strong vested interest in
creating a fear of drugs and are not looking at the defective policies
built around drugs.

"In fact, whenever you have prohibition, it creates a black market the
corruption and violence of the drug trade are a result of prohibition
creating that black market."

Mr. Oscapella recommends noncriminal regulation instead, perhaps something
similar to a liquor board to oversee soft drugs such as marijuana, while
harder drugs like heroin and cocaine might only be available through doctors.

Mr. Oscapella made his comments yesterday at the 26th Criminal Justice
Congress being held at the Citadel Inn in downtown Ottawa.

The conference, hosted by the Canadian Criminal Justice Association, brings
together people involved in the criminal justice system to discuss
longterm policy issues.

One of the themes of the conference is debunking myths about crime. Mr.
Oscapella was speaking at a session titled "Drugs and The Development of
Fear."

Mr. Oscapella has two main arguments in his battle for
decriminalization.

First, he says Canada's drug laws are flawed because it costs society
millions of dollars a year to police and prosecute drug users.

"We're giving more money to the state, we're investing more money in courts
and police, and we're diverting money from social programs," he says.

His second argument is that several powerful segments of society profit
from existing drug laws, so they are promoting a fear of drugs to make sure
the laws won't be changed.

"The tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical industries. They're very, very
happy with prohibition because it lets them sell their drugs," says Mr.
Oscapella, who calls the attack on illegal drugs "chemical McCarthyism."

"Cocaine, for example, may have some very good antidepressant qualities.
Coca tea may have some very good antidepressant qualities, but I bet you
the guys who make (antidepressants) would be upset if you could get access
to coca tea.

"The media makes money from selling godawful stories about drug violence.
The police, criminal justice system employees, all the people selling home
protection systems or drugtesting equipment, they're making money out of
prohibition. Lawyers make a lot of money from the prohibition of drugs.
Defence lawyers pay their mortgages by defending drug users, prosecutors
pay their mortgages by putting them in jail. There are a lot of vested
interests in this business."

Mr. Oscapella, who received his law degree from the London School of
Economics, works as a consultant to, among others, the federal Privacy
Commission. He is also a founding member of the Canadian Foundation for
Drug Policy, a lobby group that has appeared before several House of
Commons and Senate committees arguing for alternative methods of
regulating drugs.

Mr. Oscapella is known locally for his work with the Opera Lyra company and
the Orpheus musical theatre group.

Although he is fighting for decriminalization of illicit drugs, Mr.
Oscapella is not a drug user himself, and has never tried even marijuana.

"I haven't tried it and I have no particular interest in trying it. I come
at it as a human rights issue," says Mr. Oscapella. "People are suffering
massive deprivations of personal liberty because of the war on drugs."

Nor is Mr. Oscapella denying that drugs can be harmful, but he says they're
more harmful when they come from the street and are unregulated.

"If you were a heroin addict and you had a safe, clean supply of heroin,
you could more easily lead a normal life, hold a job, than if you were a
severe alcoholic."

He also insists there would be less crime.

"A week's worth of cocaine costs a couple of bucks to produce, but it costs
$1,000 to buy. You wouldn't have the same crime if all you needed was that
couple of bucks, all the rest, that's the profit that criminal
organizations are fighting for."