Pubdate: Tue, 27 Sep 2011 Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) Copyright: 2011 The Ottawa Citizen Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n593/a09.html Author: Robert Sharpe TOUGH APPROACH IS FAILING Re: Mandatory sentence for pot is stinky business, Sept. 24. When it comes to drugs, mandatory minimum prison sentences are proven failures. If harsh penalties deterred illicit drug use, Canada's southern neighbour would be a "drug-free" America. That's not the case. The U.S. drug war has done little other than give the land of the free the highest incarceration rate in the world. Despite tough laws, the U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands where, as noted by columnist Stephen Maher, marijuana is legal. If the goal is to discourage unhealthy choices, there are cost-effective alternatives. Thanks to public education, legal tobacco use has declined considerably, without any need to criminalize smokers or further enrich drug cartels through tobacco prohibition. Robert Sharpe, MPA, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt