DRUG POLICY NEEDED

For as long as the "War on Drugs" has been raging in North America and
elsewhere around the world, opinion has been split on how best to
approach the socially controversial and politically volatile subject.

In one camp, staunch opponents of recreational drug use have called
for total bans on all such substances and harsh penalties for
offenders. Their view tends to be fairly black and white: if the
activity is illegal, then throw the book at 'em.

At the other end of the spectrum, advocates of marijuana
decriminalization and those who favour reduced penalties for other
substances suggest that the battle against drugs simply isn't working
and will never stop people from using drugs if they're determined to
do so.

Occupying the middle ground are those who recognize that reasonable
restrictions should be placed on potentially dangerous substances.
They also note that Canada's current drug policies must be
re-evaluated to make our laws more consistent and make enforcement
objectives more attainable.

Human beings have been experimenting with "mind-altering substances"
ever since the Babylonians learned how to brew beer in about 4300 BC.
Given all the physical, emotional, mental and societal damage that
drugs can cause, we don't seem to be any closer to eliminating them.
Therefore, the most practical way to approach the problem is to
institute a combination of education, health and legal initiatives to
deal with the issue head-on.

The decision to declare one drug legal but another illegal is just one
part of a very complex puzzle. Hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine and
crystal meth can irreversibly mess up a person's life. On the other
hand, legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco are widely available and
yet their use results in gruesome diseases and thousands of
preventable deaths in Canada every year.

So where does one draw the line? When does the protection of citizens'
health interfere with the exercise of free will?

University of Victoria psychologist Dr. Tim Stockwell thinks he may
have part of the answer. The director of the Centre for Addictions
Research of B.C. recently had his five-year study of drug use amongst
youth published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet
Stockwell surveyed thousands of scientific sources and previously
published research for the article and he contends that regulating the
price and availability of alcohol and tobacco are effective ways of
limiting their damage.

Stockwell also advocates the use of "early intervention" and "harm
reduction" programs to educate people from a very young age about the
potentially deadly aspects of both legal and illegal drugs. Strategies
that support youth at critical stages in their development, he argues,
could eventually reduce the overall demand for drugs.

That certainly makes a lot more sense than having police, medical
practitioners and social service agencies struggle with a drug problem
that has already spun out of control. It's also obvious that an
American-style war on drugs won't work, since it relies most heavily
on enforcement and not enough on prevention.

Canada needs a comprehensive education and prevention policy to deal
with all harmful drugs, not just those that can be used legally
without fear of penalty or censure. Their long-term health effects can
be just as devastating.