Pubdate: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 Source: Wingham Advance-Times (CN ON) Contact: 2009 Metroland Media Group Ltd. Website: http://www.wingham.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5061 Column: What she said Author: Lindsey Kuglin Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES JUST DON'T WORK No matter where you stand on the marijuana debate, one thing that will affect even the most straight-edged Canadian is mandatory minimum sentencing. Bill C-15, which has passed in the House, and needs only Senate approval before becoming law, proposes just that. It's scary for me to think of Canada's courts and prisons packed full of what are most of the time non-violent people. That leaves less time in court and room in jail for people charged with more serious and dangerous crimes to be dealt with. Not only that, but mandatory minimum sentencing was instituted in the United States, and such has been the stand of criminal justice experts, who say that has done nothing to curb the demand for the herb, and only increases criminal activity surrounding the drug culture. The US has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. One in 100 Americans were in prison at the beginning of 2008. Second place is China - and though it has four times the population of the US, they only have 18 per cent of their incarceration rate. Drug offenders make up about one quarter of the US prison population. And that's not to say that many of them probably don't deserve to be there, but take a look at Portugal, and their drug laws. In 2001, the Portuguese government opted to decriminalized all drugs, determining that these people are more in need of treatment than punishment. While drug dealing is still illegal in Portugal, someone caught with small amounts of any drug is entered into voluntary treatment, Eight years later, and all reports coming from the European nation have been positive. Deaths caused by drug overdoses and HIV/AIDS infections both fell drastically in the first few years, while treatment for drug addiction more than doubled. Since decriminalization, marijuana use in Portugal of people over 15 was 10 per cent - the lowest rate in the European Union. In fact, illicit drug use is down across the board in Portugal since 2001. The point here is, by making drugs more and more illegal, it doesn't decrease the demand, but pushes the activity further underground, where people are the most unlikely to seek treatment. Let's hope our senators take a good look at our southern neighbours and see that mandatory minimum sentencing is not the answer to Canada's drug problem, it will only exacerbate it.