FIGHTING IN VAIN

The fear of drugs and the pain they visit on society is what gives
rise to cartoons like the one on the right.

It is what will likely give rise to increased policing of the
Downtown Eastside prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. We can't have
all those tourists and media watching Vancouver's drug trade in
action on East Hastings Street. And it is what drives
well-intentioned columnists like the News' Wallace Craig to suggest
forced detoxification and treatment of addicts.

But no matter the artfully polished face Vancouver will wear for the
world in 2010, the ugly underbelly of addiction, illness and the
crime associated with drugs will still be there. No real change is
possible until and unless Canada and the United States fundamentally
rethink their "war on drugs."

The war on drugs fills U.S. correctional facilities and turns
dispossessed Afghan opium farmers into terrorist supporters. Closer
to home, the Conservative ideology that favours "the war" approach
has already resulted in an increase in marijuana possession charges
by police in some communities.

That's just what this country needs. More kids with criminal
convictions and the perception they are being punished unfairly while
their parents can legally drink themselves just as silly.

Politicians like "targets." If you are thinking of a common enemy,
the politician already has you onside. But Canadians must understand
that the "war" on drugs is unwinnable and that the casualties along
the way are just as likely to be their kids.