Pubdate: Wed, 27 Jun 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 EVIDENCE-BASED POLICIES NEEDED Canada's drug strategy has came under attack by two international reports that point out a "tough on drugs" approach creates more problems than it solves. In separate and independent reports this week, the World Health Organization and the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which is led by six former national presidents, business magnate Richard Branson and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, detailed how the global war on drugs not only has failed but also fuelled and sustained the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. As Mr. Branson put it, the drug war is "perhaps the greatest failure" of public policy in the past 40 years. WHO estimates that five per cent of adults - or about 230 million people worldwide - used illicit drugs in 2010, with 27 million suffering from severe drug problems. By refusing to recognize drug dependence as a health problem instead of a criminal matter, the agency says countries have heightened the stigma and discrimination associated with drug use and increased the barriers to appropriate treatment programs. Of course none of this is new either to the Canadian government, which is dogmatic in its approach despite evidence of the policy's ultimate failure, or to Canadians, who've got accustomed to being governed on ideology rather than pragmatism or evidence. Julie Di Mambro, a spokeswoman for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, told the Globe and Mail Tuesday that the government's National Anti-Drug Strategy will continue to be "tough on drug dealers and producers who threaten the safety of our youth and communities." It is basically the same lecture that Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered to world the leaders during a recent Organization of American States summit, where there was overwhelming support for ending the drug war, legalizing and controlling drugs, and eroding the economic basis of the violent and disruptive drug cartels. While Mr. Harper's determination to stick to a demonstrably failed drug strategy in spite of the evidence should concern Canadians as much as it does some world leaders, of even greater concern should be his government's consistent eschewing of evidence and attacking the sources of criticism in trying to protect its ideological positions. Such was the case last week, for example, when Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Treasury Board President Tony Clement attacked parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page for repeatedly and accurately identifying government policy failures. It was Mr. Baird, one of the government's most influential cabinet members, who also suggested scrapping the National Roundtable on the Economy and Environment because its advice often ran counter to the Conservatives' views. And during the recent Rio+20 summit, Environment Minister Peter Kent complained that Canada has been a victim of "misinformation and mischaracterization" when it comes to balancing economic development with environmental probity. He represents a government that pulled funding and sent auditors to probe organizations whose opinions contradict its narrow view. Unfortunately for the government, attacking the messengers and sacking scientist observers doesn't change the outcomes. Change can be achieved only by listening to the experts and basing public policy on the best evidence. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom