HARPER OFFERS MORE OF THE SAME OLD FAILED DRUG STRATEGY

The prime minister has once again put his own politics ahead of any
reasonable policy in the Tory government's latest announcements.

It's not just that Stephen Harper's drug policy is wrong. We all make
mistakes.

But Harper is so hopelessly at odds with all the evidence about drugs
that he looks like a slave to ideology or prejudice. And that's a
more serious flaw in a prime minister than an occasional
misjudgment.

Harper unveiled the Conservative's "new" drug strategy this month,
continuing the party's traditional tough talk. He had already
promised legislation to impose mandatory minimum sentences for
undefined "serious" drug crimes. (That's a bad idea - the courts need
the ability to judge an offender's circumstances.)

Now he has announced the federal government will add $64 million to
the money available for dealing with illegal drugs and addictions over
the next two years.

About $22 million will be provided to increase enforcement; $32
million for treatment; and $10 million for a drug-awareness campaign
aimed at youth.

That could sound like the government is focusing on treatment and
prevention. But it's not.

The federal auditor general looked at government spending to combat
drugs and addiction about five years ago. At that time, Ottawa was
spending about $500 million a year - it's higher now. And 94 per cent
of the money was being spent on enforcement.

Treatment, prevention and harm reduction got about 60 cents for every
$10 going to police, courts and jails. Harper's announcement doesn't
change that.

More money for treatment is welcome. But the shortage now is acute.
Desperate people who want to deter and get clean are regularly told to
callback in a few weeks. The most effective model provides immediate
access to treatment, to take advantage of the often-brief periods when
addicts seek help.

Harper's $16 million a year for increased treatment means about $1.6
million for all of B.C. It won't make a dent in the problem.

And it's hard to get wildly enthusiastic about a $10-million awareness
program. After some 20 years of various such campaigns we don't seem
to have made huge progress in reducing abuse. There are arguably more
drunk young people out on a Thursday night than there were 10 years
ago.

Awareness and prevention are important. But the old 'Just Say No'
approach doesn't seem to have worked. Perhaps it's time to provide
kids with real information and acknowledge that most of them will try
some drug - alcohol, pot, whatever. The goal should be to help them
recognize the worst choices and make informed decisions. (And perhaps
it's time to target the at risk kids most heavily - children in
government care, for example.)

Instead we're waging the same old war on drugs.

Health Minister Tony Clement promised more enforcement.

"The party's over," he said, although just what party he was talking
about remains a puzzle.

And Harper proposes to continue this costly and destructive effort
despite the clearest evidence that it will not work.

Every effort - at least in a western country - to deal with a drug
issue by attacking the supply has failed. The lesson should have been
clear by 1933, when the U.S. ended its experiment in prohibiting
alcohol. The results were disastrous: Law enforcement costs soared,
criminal organizations expanded, alcohol abuse worsened and respect
for the law was undermined.

Every similar effort since then - right up to the costly war on drugs
today - has produced the same type of dismal result.

Harper should recognize the power of markets. Where there is demand,
supply will emerge. Enforcement efforts might increase the cost of
drugs, or briefly interrupt supplies, but that's it. (Though in fact,
the largest heroin seizure in Canadian history had no effect on price
or availability on the street, according to a Vancouver study.)

That means any real and lasting success in the war on drugs can only
come from managing the demand side of the equation - through
prevention, treatment and harm reduction.

Harper's inability to put the evidence ahead of ideology will cost
Canadians dearly, while our drug problems worsen.

Footnote: The Harper government bought more time on Vancouver's safer
injection site, approving a six-month license extension. The site's
benefits have been established in several major studies; the government's
refusal to face the facts and offer a multi-year extension suggests the
Conservatives want to delay any action until after an election.