STIFFER PENALTIES WRONG

In a recent One Man's Opinion editorial (March 7, 580 CKPR), Rick
Smith argues in favour of stricter penalties for offences related to
marijuana production, trafficking, and possession.

Smith demands minimum sentences of three years for production and
trafficking, and a one-year minimum sentence for simple possession. A
discussion about the costs of such a measure might lead Smith and
others to reconsider their ruinously expensive position.

Statistics Canada reports that in 2002, total cannabis offences
numbered 69,989 cases, 50,246 of which were for simple possession. The
Correctional Service of Canada meanwhile reports that locking up the
average male offender in a medium-security prison costs $69,716
annually. Simple multiplication reveals that if each marijuana
offender were incarcerated for at least 1 year, the minimum cost to
the taxpayer for this measure would be $4.9 billion per year. This
does not even include the capital costs needed to build facilities to
house these inmates.

For each conviction, there are countless cases of possession that
don't even result in an arrest. About 45 per cent of adult Canadians
admit to having tried marijuana at some point, and were therefore in
possession of cannabis at some time. A serious police crackdown on
possession would undoubtedly yield many more cases and convictions,
raising the cost of justice even more. And if the objective is to
reduce drug use, there is little evidence to support harsher sentences
being the answer. The United States has the highest incarceration rate
for drug offences in the western world, yet drug use remains an
increasingly serious problem.

The cost of incarceration is extremely high, and the benefits to
society of locking up individuals convicted of "moral crimes" are
questionable at best. Society must debate whether the $4.9 billion
(and probably more) would be well spent funding the prison industry,
or whether there are better uses for this money. I am certainly
inclined to take the latter position. It is because of prohibition
that a black market controlled by organized crime exists at all.

Hans Riekko,

Kingston, Ont.