Pubdate: Tue, 03 Mar 2009
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2009 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.winnipegsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: Mindelle Jacobs
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

Drug Traffickers Missed Memo

A decade ago, world leaders at a special UN session adopted an 
unrealistic but laudable goal -- achieving "real progress" in 
reducing illicit drug production by 2008.

"It is time for every nation to say 'no' to drugs," said then UN 
secretary general Kofi Annan at the 1998 UN gathering. "It is time 
for all nations to say 'yes' to the challenge of working towards a 
drug-free world."

The drug cultivators, traffickers and users don't seem to have paid 
any attention. "I think one would say that the situation's not 
getting better," says Michel Perron, CEO of the Canadian Centre on 
Substance Abuse.

The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), which sets policy on 
drug-related matters, acknowledges that the goals remain distant but 
it is still hoping for a drug-free world in another decade, says Perron.

And so government representatives from around the globe will gather 
at a CND meeting in Vienna next week to map out a strategy for the 
next 10 years.

Perron is scheduled to address the plenary session -- the only 
presentation to be made by an NGO. He's been attending CND meetings 
for years and is under no illusion that international drug policy is 
about to undergo a massive transformation.

"Progress is slow at this level," he concedes. "One of the problems 
with the global discussion on drug policy is that it is 
hyper-politicized. And, therefore, it becomes very difficult to make 
changes that are seen to be politically acceptable across the 
different countries."

Policy debate

Not everything is impossible in the global arena, mind you. Last 
summer, he brought together 300 NGOs from around the world to debate 
how to improve drug policy.

Despite the widely varying ideological positions, the NGOs agreed 
that illicit drug use is a public health issue and that the 
approaches to address the problem should be based on evidence and the 
mitigation of harm.

It doesn't mesh with Stephen Harper's plan for mandatory minimum 
sentences for drug dealers, of course. Hard-core gangsters won't be 
deterred by such penalties. For one thing, the drug kingpins are 
rarely caught. Will the Tories ever learn?

One of the key messages Perron plans to deliver to the UN session 
next week is the need for more emphasis on prevention and treatment.

"The policies made (in the past) didn't always reflect the evidence," 
he says. "The issue is not so much a drug-free world as a world free 
of drug harm."

He's optimistic that the UN has reached a "tipping point" on the 
issue. "I think there's an acknowledgement that they really have to 
look at things in a different manner."

Educating Harper, meanwhile, continues to be a challenge. For a year, 
University of Victoria drug policy researcher Susan Boyd and the 
Vancouver-based Beyond Prohibition Coalition have been sending the PM 
weekly readings about more effective harm reduction initiatives. They 
sent their last package last month.

Educating Harper

You can read the material at www.educatingharper.com and fire off an 
e-mail to Harper if you like.

"Why should we leave the regulation of these drugs to criminal gangs 
and the black market?" asks Boyd. "We would fare better as a society 
regulating them ourselves."

A striking snippet from the website: In 2002 in B.C., 27% of deaths 
linked to various conditions were related to smoking or booze -- the 
legal substances. Drug-induced mortality represented only 1.4% of the deaths.

Our politicians clearly need an ideology transplant.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom