POLITICIANS AND PROFESSORS DEBATE NATIONAL DRUG POLICY

CANADA'S NATIONAL DRUG policy is in a state of flux. The former
Liberal federal government made moves towards decriminalizing small
amounts of marijuana and instituted a medical-marijuana program
during its last session in power. The current Conservative
government has taken a tougher stance towards illegal drugs
by taking steps to increase both the prosecution of drug offenders
and penalties for drug offences.

These issues were discussed at the Public Forum on Drug Policy held
at the Courtyard Marriott hotel in Ottawa on Oct. 25. Sponsored and
run by the AIDS Committee of Ottawa and the HIV Prevention Research
Team, the forum revolved around a discussion of harm-reduction
policies and their effectiveness in Canada. There were a number of
panellists representing academia and political parties in Canada. U
of O criminology professor Eugene Oscapella and NDP deputy leader
Libby Davies (Vancouver East, B.C.) both participated in the event.

Oscapella spoke about the idea of harm reduction in an international context.

"It's not only what we're doing in our communities, it's what we're
doing in places abroad," he said, pointing out different approaches
to drug enforcement around the world, from the law-enforcement-based
methods in the United States to the more complex approaches taken in
many European countries. "We know [law enforcement] doesn't work. We
see this in the U.S.. You can't imprison your way out of the drug problem."

Oscapella also discussed the problems with drug policy as a whole,
saying that often governments "treat users as the problem, when they
are the symptoms of real social problems that aren't addressed."

Davies commented on the problems she faces in her riding, which
includes the infamous Downtown East Side.

"[Drug use is] primarily a public-health issue. The consequence of
pure enforcement policies is people dying in the streets," she said.

Davies' riding includes InSite, which is Canada's first and only
supervised injection site for heroin and other intravenous-drug
users. InSite started as a three-year pilot project in 2003, and has
been rigorously studied by both Canadian and American policymakers
to assess its impact and effectiveness. It operates under a special
exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The
exemption was recently extended to June 2008.

Davies supports the site and believes it should provide a model for
other cities across the country.

"We need to move this from an ideological issue to a proper policy
based on research and facts. If we want a pragmatic solution [for
the drug problem], it should start with harm reduction," she said.

Other speakers at the forum included Jake Cole of the Green Party
and Laverne Monette of the Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy.