JUST SAY NO TO U.S.-STYLE DRUG LAWS

Re: Drug treatment court gives users second chance, Sept. 29
For non-violent offenders with chronic substance abuse problems, drug
treatment courts
are a cost-effective alternative to incarceration. I just hope Canada's drug
courts
aren't misused for political purposes the way they are here in the U.S.
Record numbers
of U.S. citizens arrested for marijuana possession have been forced into
treatment by
the criminal justice system. The resulting distortion of treatment
statistics is used by
U.S. Drug Czar John Walters to claim that marijuana is "addictive."

Zero tolerance drug laws do not distinguish between occasional use and
chronic abuse. The coercion of Americans who prefer marijuana to
martinis into government treatment centres says a lot about U.S.
government priorities, but absolutely nothing about the relative harms
of marijuana. U.S. drug courts have become the latest tool of culture
warriors intent on enforcing their version of morality.

Canada should Just Say No to the American Inquisition.

Robert Sharpe, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Arlington, Va.