DRUGS: EUROPEAN EXTREME PREFERRED

Dear Editor,

I commend you on your editorial calling for radical change in our approach
to drug policy in this country [Extreme need, Feb. 24 Comment, Langley
Advance News].

You postulate two extremes: the U.S. enforcement-heavy model and the
European treatment-heavy model. Let us be clear on which option Canada
should take.

The U.S. model spends trillions of taxpayer dollars annually, locks up
millions of citizens, and has utterly failed to reduce either the supply of
or demand for drugs.

The European model costs much less, doesn't criminalize people, and is
effective at reducing the demand for drugs.

It seems clear that following the U.S. lead is a mistake. No form of
prohibition has ever been successful; there isn't a single example of a
drug-war success story in any non-totalitarian country in the world.

The European model would achieve even greater success, if drugs were taken
out of the criminal arena altogether.

Of course, that would mean telling the U.S. to mind its own business.

Kirk Tousaw,

Vancouver