DROP FAILED POLICY

The Starphoenix recently reported that the war on drugs has claimed an
astonishing 45,000-plus Mexican lives in recent years, rivalling
conventional warfare deaths in countries such as Afghanistan.

Undoubtedly most have been killed with U.s.-made guns, which are
widespread in Mexico because illicit American arms are often traded
for illegal drugs.

The war on drugs has been a complete failure, failing to stop the
proliferation of illicit substances globally and empowering
international criminal and terrorist organizations.

The vast majority of the world's heroin supply originates in
Afghanistan, which is a recipe for disaster and cause for western
intervention as long as an illicit market remains for the drug.
Although Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has called for an
end to the war on drugs, virtually no politicians or political parties
in Canada or the United States share his position. Ottawa will spend
billions on new prisons and law enforcement initiatives as a result of
the new omnibus crime legislation. Yet all the money being spent on
enforcement and prisons flies in the face of studies done by such
diverse academic organizations such as the Cato Institute in the U.S.,
and public groups such as the Senate special committee on illegal
drugs, which in 2002 called for a rethinking of Canada's drug policy.

More public figures should be advocating for regulation and taxation
of drugs. It's a far better alternative to policies that have made
the illegal drug trade one of the world's most profitable and
vicious industries.

Nathan Holowaty

Saskatoon