Pubdate: Fri, 14 Feb 2014
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2014 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Jesse Kline

THE CONSERVATIVES' DRUG WAR QUAGMIRE

Nearly 90% of people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside have Hepatitis 
C. Why does the government want to make it harder for them to get 
clean crack pipes?

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. Or so we're told. But 
when you repeatedly stare failure in the face, sometimes it's better 
to give up.

Case in point: There's no question the war on drugs has been an 
abject failure. There's a policy experiment taking place right across 
the border in Washington state, which has legalized marijuana.

But instead of taking a close look at it, the federal Conservatives 
have doubled down, instituting mandatory-minimum sentences for 
non-violent drug offenders and fighting harm-reduction initiatives, 
such as Vancouver's InSite clinic, every step of the way.

"There's so much I worry about as a mom," says a voice on a 
Conservative attack ad, who manages to espouse everything that's vile 
about the 
if-it-only-saves-one-child-it's-worth-sacrificing-all-our-freedoms 
soccer-mom mentality. "Justin Trudeau's plan to make marijuana legal 
certainly doesn't help. Imagine making it available just like alcohol 
and cigarettes."

Yes, imagine that: No more millions of dollars wasted ruining the 
lives of non-violent drug users; safety standards to ensure people 
are aware of what they're putting in their bodies; business 
opportunities for entrepreneurs; no more gangs shooting up our 
streets for control over the drug trade; tax revenue to fund 
treatment programs; and rules to ensure minors don't have easy access 
to harmful substances. Does that really sound so bad?

Instead of looking for solutions that would help alleviate many of 
the problems associated with drugs, the Harper government is 
attacking anything that is even associated with illicit substances. 
It was recently reported that for the past eight months, crack pipes 
have been available from two vending machines in Vancouver's Downtown 
Eastside, an area that struggles with high rates of drug use. (That's 
right, you can buy crack pipes from a vending machine. But 
considering Japanese vending machines sell everything from live crabs 
to beer, perhaps it's not as strange as it seems.)

The machines are operated by the Portland Hotel Society, a non-profit 
that works with the homeless and people with mental illness and 
addiction issues. The pipes are dispensed for 25c a pop - enough to 
recover costs, but by no means enough to turn this into a profitable 
venture. The idea is to prevent the spread of communicable diseases 
(from people cutting their lips on broken pipes) and to give people 
an access point to enter into treatment programs.

Statistics about the prevalence of blood-borne diseases in the 
Downtown Eastside are staggering. Eighty-seven per cent of the 
population has Hepatitis C. The neighbourhood also has a lower life 
expectancy, and higher rates of HIV, than any other place in the 
Western world. Given the scope of the problem, any initiative that 
helps reduce the rate at which these diseases are transmitted is 
something worth looking at - especially if the program is self-sufficient.

But what was Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney's response? He 
stressed the government's commitment to limiting "young people's 
access to drug paraphernalia." As if an addict who can't find a crack 
pipe is suddenly going to switch to coffee and get a nine-to-five job.

The fact is that if people can't find clean drug paraphernalia, 
they're going to find some way to continue using, whether that 
involves crafting a pipe out of a pop can, using a broken pipe or 
shooting-up with a used needle. Drugs are already illegal, and people 
don't have much trouble getting their hands on them. It is foolhardy, 
to say the least, to think the government could discourage drug use 
by making it harder to access pipes and bongs, which are legal to own.

Instead of launching partisan attacks against the opposition for 
preferring "that doctors hand out heroin and needles to those 
suffering from addiction," to quote Mr. Blaney, or making it sound as 
though Justin Trudeau wants to smoke a joint with someone's toddler, 
the Tories should have a frank discussion with Canadians about how we 
can reform our drug laws and finally put an end to this useless war 
on drugs. Until then, any private ventures that seek to reduce the 
harms associated with hard drugs should be applauded.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom