MANDATORY MINIMUM PRISON SENTENCES ARE PROVEN FAILURES

When it comes to drugs, mandatory minimum prison sentences are proven
failures. If harsh sentences deterred illicit drug use, Canada's
southern neighbour would be a "drug-free" America. That's not the
case. The U.S. drug war has done little other than give the land of
the free the highest incarceration rate in the world. Marijuana
prohibition in particular has failed miserably. The U.S. has higher
rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is
legally available to adults over 18. The Canadian Senate got it right
in 2002 when the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded
that marijuana is relatively benign, marijuana prohibition contributes
to organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on
patterns of use. In the words of Senator Pierre Claude Nolin,
"Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is
substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a
criminal issue but as a social and public health issue."

Robert Sharpe

(Yep. Some smart politician will win on this eventually.)