Pubdate: Mon, 20 Nov 2000
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2000 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact:  1101 Baxter Rd.,Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 3M4
Fax: 613-596-8522
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Bookmark: Heroin http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm

ANOTHER BUST THAT'S A BUST

Do major drug busts accomplish anything aside from giving police a
chance to show off at press conferences? This newspaper has argued
that the evidence says no.

The RCMP, naturally, begs to differ. And now the Mounties are claiming
that an enormous heroin bust in September proves that they are right.

What happened is that on Sept. 2 that the RCMP seized some 200 pounds
of heroin in a Vancouver warehouse. It was one of the largest hauls in
Canadian history. And in that same month, the number of drug overdose
deaths in Vancouver dropped to zero, which is something that hasn't
happened in at least seven years.

Was the heroin bust responsible for this good news? The RCMP says that
it was. It may not have been the only contributing factor,
acknowledged Insp. Murray Dauk, but "it's certainly a contributing
factor."

The Mounties' self-interest in this case is obvious. The idea that
police operations don't help solve drug problems is gaining ground in
this country, threatening the 1,000 RCMP officers whose sole business
is running those operations. They would dearly love some tangible
proof that drug seizures aren't just make-work projects for police.

But they're not going to find it in this case. The fact is overdose
deaths were falling dramatically before the Sept. 2 seizure. In May,
there were 12 overdoses in Vancouver. There were nine in June, seven
in July and five in August. Clearly, the drop to zero in September is
in line with a trend.

That same trend can be seen across B.C. From January to July, there
were an average of 26 overdose deaths per month across the province.
But in August there were nine deaths. In September, there were 10.
Whatever factors brought the decline in overdoses were at work long
before Sept. 2.

More direct evidence can be found on the streets of Vancouver's
downtown eastside. Did heroin suddenly become scarce after the bust?
If it had, the price would have soared (which is, parenthetically, a
major reason busts are so futile). In fact, the price of heroin didn't
rise by so much as a penny.

Earl Crow, vice-president of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users,
a support group of drug users, bought and used heroin through most of
September. He "saw no effects at all" on the street. Heroin remained
"very easy to come by."

This fits with worldwide experience over many decades of the drug war.
Even huge drug seizures have been shown, time and time again, to have
- -- at best -- only a brief, small effect on the local supply of drugs.
Far more commonly, busts have no effect at all.

Until the police, politicians and the public acknowledge this truth,
Canada will continue to waste resources on ineffective drug policies.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager