EDITORIAL: O, CANADA! (OH, THE EMBARRASSMENT!)

Though a critic of US drug policies, the US is still my home, its
government is mine, its leaders were elected by my fellow US citizens.
So I can't help but get a little embarrassed -- though mostly
entertained -- when United States drug warriors say ridiculous things
in other countries that make them look stupid.

One such drug warrior was Rep. Mark Souder. Souder told members of a
Canadian Senate Committee last July that "BC Bud," British Columbia's
famous high-grade marijuana, is as dangerous as cocaine, threatening
Canada with a tighter border crackdown if they proceeded with
decriminalization as officials have called for. Souder's wacky claim
drew proper astonishment from Member of Parliament from Vancouver
Libby Davies, who wondered out loud to Canada's Globe and Mail
newspaper, "My God, what is this man talking about?" The Senators
weren't impressed either -- their final report went further than
decriminalization and instead called for marijuana legalization outright.

Two of Souder's partners in comedy, US drug czar John Walters and
former Family Research Council VP and Bush drug policy advisor Robert
Maginnis, were loud in Canada's news this week, and they sounded
desperate. Walters warned that liberalizing drug laws would hurt
Canadians, begging them, "[d]on't repeat our pain." Maginnis warned,
"We're going to have to clamp down even stronger on our border if you
liberalize and contribute to what we consider a drug tourism problem,"
continuing, "I don't want to get to the point where we're calling for
a boycott of Canadian products."

I wonder which products Maginnis was talking about, and if he actually
thinks it would work. This country hasn't even boycotted Saudi oil.
And decades of exhortation by government officials, private anti-drug
groups, teachers, DARE cops, military, media and numerous others
haven't persuaded American enthusiasts from indulging in cannabis both
domestic and foreign. It's pretty unlikely that very many people would
get worked up enough to keep track of and avoid the numerous
nondescript consumer goods that cross our northern border legally --
even in the unlikely event that marijuana policy changes in Canada
drew the ire of significant numbers of Americans.

Walters and Maginnis should be worried. Support for decrim rises to
the highest levels of government. It has popular support. Indeed, many
Canadians, like the Senate Committee, don't feel it goes far enough.
The aforementioned Libby Davies told the Winnipeg Free Press this week
that the House of Commons Special Committee's recommendations "leav[e]
in place all the harms from prohibition." Eugene Oscapella of the
Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy said "it is not clear if the
police will still be able to kick your door down, throw you up against
the wall, arrest you, and then write you a traffic ticket." Canada's
media isn't only covering the American side, but is speaking with
experts from that famous bastion of tolerant drug policy, The
Netherlands. And Canada is looking at a range of reforms relating to
other drugs, including safe injection rooms and heroin maintenance
trial programs. How long will it be before there is a serious dialogue
on legalization of all drugs?

Though the decrim recommendations aren't everything reformers would
like, they are a significant start, and a sign that US drug warriors'
stranglehold on international drug policymaking is slowly but surely
falling apart. It's understandable that they would be in a panic over
it. But I wish they would save the rest of us the embarrassment and
show a little more grace and class in their diplomacy.

In the meantime, go Canada!