DRUG FIGHT WORTHWHILE

Simplistic Calls To 'End Prohibition' Ignore Complicated Reality

The "Prince of Pot" sounded disappointed.

Marc Emery, the Vancouver seed seller who will turn himself in to U.S.
authorities in September, was in Alberta last week as part of his
farewell tour.

While he drew small gatherings in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge,
there were no cops, no controversy and little media coverage.

Emery admitted he was on his best behaviour because of bail
conditions, so he didn't smoke up with supporters as usual.

Even so, the activist, sometimes described as the Johnny Appleseed of
pot, said he's given them "marching orders" to fight "the terrible
dangers posed to ourselves and our children from prohibition."

The marijuana legalization movement has been gaining some traction
lately with the call to "end prohibition" as a simple, inexpensive
solution to the growing crime wave fuelled by gangs and the illicit
drug trade.

Emery said the rallying cry has spread from activists to politicians
and the media. While he considers the Conservatives the mortal enemy
of pot proponents, the NDP and Green party seem high on the issue.

Even California Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger admits it's time to
debate whether to legalize and tax marijuana.

Emery quickly rattles off the benefits of "ending prohibition" in one
obviously often-repeated and breathless sentence.

"The government would get a lot of taxes and organized crime would
find it completely unprofitable to get involved and you'd stop having
kids going to jail being recruited by gangs and we'd see a great
diminishment in the violence these gangs cause fighting over their
turf."

Even the UN's new World Drug Report admits there's a "growing chorus"
among politicians, the press and even in public opinion that drug
control isn't working.

The pro-pot crowd uses every opportunity to trumpet its message that
legalization is a cure for society's drug woes.

They are opposed to tough new federal laws that would impose mandatory
minimum sentences for dealing drugs such as cocaine, heroin or meth to
youths or for running large-scale marijuana grow-ops.

A recent pronouncement by Alberta Justice Minister Alison Redford
suggesting drug users are fuelling organized crime and the violence
that goes along with it brought them out in full fury.

The question lingering with the "end prohibition" argument is what
happens when you legalize drugs?

What kind of a society do you end up with when you legalize not only
pot, but the harder drugs that generate so much criminal activity?

Emery seems to believe pot is a beneficial substance, but nobody would
argue other drugs do anything but slowly destroy the user.

The UN Report warns us not to be swayed by sweeping generalizations
and simplistic solutions.

"Drugs are not harmful because they are controlled, writes Antonio
Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs. "They are controlled
because they are harmful."

Those in favour of legalization claim it would reduce police and
prison costs and net a small fortune in tax revenue.

That might be tempting to governments reeling from the financial
impact of the recession, but how can we ignore the terrible costs that
would ensue in terms of human health and misery?

Criminals are going to be out to make an easy buck, no matter how
liberal our drug laws.

"Oddly, of all areas of international co-operation, drug control is
uniquely subject to to calls the struggle should be abandoned," the UN
report states.

"Despite equally mixed results in international interventions, no one
advocates accepting poverty or war as inevitable."

That said, Maria Costa admits international drug control efforts must
be refocused to better protect society.

While the fight against the criminal middlemen who profit should
continue, the root causes need greater attention.

That means addressing the poverty of the farmers growing opium and
coca crops and treating addicts, rather than repeatedly jailing and
releasing them to offend again.

The notion that ending prohibition against drugs would fix all our
problems is a pipe dream.

The bitter truth is there are no simple solutions to this complex and
multifaceted challenge confronting the world.