LEGALIZE OR FIGHT IT: VIEWS ON DRUGS DIFFER

One day drugs may be legal.

Debate left open possibility that pot, opiates could one day be legal

There were persuasive points made, but no fiery exchanges during the
drug debate at the University College of the Fraser Valley Tuesday.

Yes, Canadian prison psychiatrist Ian Postnikoff and former Seattle
police chief Norm Stamper were unequivocal in their positions that
prohibition is a failure. In their view our streets and children
would be safer if all drugs were legal and regulated.

But the two men on the enforcement side, Abbotsford police chief Ian
Mackenzie and UCFV criminologist Dr. Darryl Plecas were less absolute
in their positions - don't end prohibition, they said, at least not yet.

Plecas said more research and informed debate are needed before
governments should move to legalize drugs like marijuana, cocaine,
opiates and methamphetamines.

"Drugs may be decriminalized one day, but let's not jump to it. Any
policy changes should be evidence-based - I'm simply saying, we're
not ready for it yet," he said.

Plecas isn't convinced western countries are losing the war on drugs.
He said the decline in U.S. drug use and crime since 1971 may be due
to increased police enforcement and penalties. He called for "more
effective sentences" in Canada.

Mackenzie, once a beat cop on Vancouver's downtown eastside, said
police can't advocate for policies, but are compelled to enforce
criminal law to protect people from "injurious behavior." He warned
the law was not a panacea to the complex problem of drug use, adding
society must use other means, such as treatment and drug courts.

Stamper, a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
[www.leap.cc], said regulating drugs would take the power, control
and profits of the drug economy away from criminals.

The estimated one trillion dollars the U.S. has spent on "a
fundamentally unwinnable war" since 1971 would be better spent on
education, prevention and treatment, he said.

Postnikoff, chief psychiatrist at Pacific Institution in Abbotsford,
said societies can't "afford to continue adding to the death count,
the disease and destruction for another 30 years."

"I say legalize drugs because I want to see less drug abuse, not
more. I want to put the drug dealers out of business," he said.

The debate drew about 400 people.

Stamper praised Mackenzie for taking part in the debate. Having a
police chief debate prohibition "would rarely happen in the States," he said.

In April Stamper begins a Canadian speaking tour in Vancouver to
promote his book, Breaking Ranks . . . a top cop's expose of the dark
side of American policing.