Pubdate: Wed, 22 Feb 2012
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2012 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Douglas Quan, Postmedia News 
Cited: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition: http://www.leap.cc/

U.S. LAW PANEL URGES PM TO RECONSIDER MANDATORY PENALTIES FOR
MARIJUANA

A high-profile group of current and former U.S. law enforcement
officials has sent a letter to the Harper government with a surprising
message: Take it from us, the war on drugs has been a "costly failure."

The officials are urging the Canadian government to reconsider
mandatory minimum sentences for "minor" marijuana offences under its
"tough-oncrime bill" and said a better approach would be to legalize
marijuana under a policy of taxation and regulation.

"We are ... extremely concerned that Canada is implementing mandatory
minimum sentencing legislation for minor marijuana-related offences
similar to those that have been such costly failures in the United
States," the letter reads. "These policies have bankrupted state
budgets as limited tax dollars pay to imprison non-violent drug
offenders at record rates instead of programs that can actually
improve community safety."

The letter was signed by more than two dozen current and former
judges, police officers, special agents, drug investigators and other
members of the advocacy group Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition.

The release of the letter comes just days after four former attorneys
general in British Columbia called for the repeal of Canada's
marijuana prohibition laws, saying they have done nothing but fuel
organized crime and gang violence.

But the Harper government remains unswayed.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said
the government has "no intention to decriminalize or legalize
marijuana" and "remains committed to ensuring criminals are held fully
accountable for their actions."

Nicholson has said mandatory minimum sentences related to marijuana
are designed to target organized crime, gangs and grow ops.

The government's omnibus crime bill, Bill C-10, is now before the
Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs.

The letter from American law enforcement officials suggested that the
U.S. is becoming "more progressive" than Canada with its marijuana
policies.

"Sixteen U.S. states and the District of Columbia have passed laws
allowing some degree of medical use of marijuana, and 14 states have
taken steps to decriminalize marijuana possession," the letter said.

The letter also noted that three states - Washington, California and
Colorado - are all preparing ballot initiatives in 2012 to overturn
marijuana prohibition.

"In addition to gang violence, incarceration and criminal records for
nonviolent drug offenders have ruined countless lives. Based on this
irrefutable evidence, and the repeal of these mandatory sentencing
measures in various regions in the United States, we cannot understand
why Canada's federal government and some provincial governments would
embark down this road," the U.S. officials wrote. 
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