DRUGS: ANTI-DRUG STRATEGIES CREATE HARM

Dear Editor,

Langley-Abbotsford MP Randy White visits a Mexican prison that warehouses
drug offenders and returns home to claim "Mexico and the U.S. are looking
for real answers to getting them [addicts] off drugs [MP fears for addicts'
welfare, Dec. 10, Langley Advance News]." And they're both failing miserably.

Contrary to what the media hype over "B.C. Bud" would have the public
believe, the vast majority of marijuana imported into the U.S. comes from
Mexico. Canada's southern neighbour has paid a steep price for its refusal
to acknowledge that both drug abuse and drug enforcement have the potential
to cause harm.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control researchers estimate that 57% of AIDS
cases among women and 36% 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 policies that restrict access to clean syringes. Can Canada
afford to emulate the harm maximization drug policies of the U.S.?

The police state approach to public health problems is a proven failure.
Police searches on public transit, drug-sniffing dogs in schools and random
drug testing have led to loss of civil liberties in the U.S., while failing
miserably at preventing drug use.

Lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any country in Europe.

The experience of the former land of the free and current record holder in
citizens incarcerated provides tragic examples of anti-drug strategies that
are best avoided.

Robert Sharpe

Drug Policy Alliance