DRUG POLICY ANALYST DISAGREES WITH MP

Conservative MP Jim Abbott makes the common mistake of confusing
drug-related crime with prohibition-related crime in his May 9 column.
Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains
constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For
addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate
addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The
drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

The good news is that Canada has already adopted many of the common
sense harm reduction interventions first pioneered in Europe. The bad
news is that Canada's southern neighbor continues to use its
superpower status to export a dangerous moral crusade around the
globe. The United States provides tragic examples of anti-drug
strategies that are best avoided.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control researchers (you can find the
relevant statistics at www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/idu.htm ) estimate
that 57 percent of AIDS cases among women and 36 percent of overall
AIDS cases in the U.S. are linked to injection drug use or sex with
partners who inject drugs. This easily preventable public health
crisis is a direct result of zero tolerance laws that restrict access
to clean syringes.

Can Canada afford to emulate the harm maximization approach of the
former land of the free and current record holder in citizens
incarcerated?

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, DC