DRUG DOGS MAUL LIBERTY

Editor:

Regarding the debate over the possibility of drug-sniffing dogs in Surrey
schools, I hope Canada has better success with the police-state approach to
public health problems than the former land of the free and current record
holder in citizens incarcerated.

In the United States, drug-sniffing dogs in schools, police searches on
public transit and random drug testing have led to a loss of civil
liberties, while failing miserably to prevent drug use. Lifetime use of
marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any country in Europe.

The U.S. offers Canada tragic examples of anti-drug strategies which are
best avoided. U.S. centers for disease control researchers estimate 57 per
cent of AIDS cases among women and 36 per cent 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 which restrict access to clean syringes. While American
schools are finally dropping the once popular Drug Abuse Resistance
Education (DARE) program, Canadian schools are just starting to implement
it. The scare tactics used do more harm than good.

Students who realize they've been lied to about marijuana often make the
mistake of assuming harder drugs, such as heroin, are relatively harmless,
too. This is a recipe for disaster.

Another worrisome U.S. import now being used in Canada is civil asset
forfeiture, in which financial incentives created for police, risk turning
what should be protectors of the peace into predators. Enough horror
stories have arisen surrounding forfeiture in the U.S. the federal
government had to step in to curb abuses.

Despite modest reforms, the U.S. remains one of the most backward countries
in the world in terms of drug policy. Canada should Just Say No to the
American inquisition.

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A., Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C.