Pubdate: Fri, 20 Jun 2014
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Joe Fiorito
Page: GT2
Referenced: CPHA's discussion paper entitled "A new Approach to 
Managing Illegal Psychoactive Substances": 
http://www.cpha.ca/uploads/policy/ips_2014-05-15_e.pdf

A RADICAL STANCE ON LEGALIZING ILLICIT DRUGS

Today's soundtrack is provided by a smartly dressed woman sitting in 
a coffee shop with a frothy drink in front of her; she is rocking 
back and forth and slapping herself in the face for reasons known only to her.

Now down to business.

The Canadian Public Health Association was in town a while back and, 
as is usual at such gatherings, there were many papers presented.

One such paper recommends a sharp shift toward a newer, smarter, more 
progressive drug policy; decriminalization of psychoactive 
substances, and an emphasis on harm reduction, among other things.

Why is this an issue of public health? Because, if you have been 
paying any attention at all, you know that we are helpless to stop 
the flow of drugs, yet at the same time we are indifferent to the 
health of drug users.

Here is your daily dose of irony:

The only people profiting from the so-called war on drugs are drug 
dealers - whenever we crack down on supply, the price goes up and 
they get rich; or cops - they use our fear of drugs to ratchet up 
their budgets; or right-wing politicians, who goad the ill-informed 
with inflammatory rhetoric.

Here's a more painful dose of irony: for every dollar we spend on 
harm reduction, we save seven dollars in other costs.

Anyway, I know a guy, Matt Johnson, who was at the CPHA meeting when 
the paper was presented, and who then spoke at a panel where it was discussed.

Matt is a smart young guy; put him next to me, and you would say his 
health is better, which means you would not know that he uses heroin.

He also works with drug users.

To begin, I asked him why we need to shift our approach to drugs. He 
said, "A drug-free society is laughable. If you wanted to create a 
harmful system, you couldn't do better than the one we have."

I asked him about the direction of public health policy at this 
moment. He said, "There's a movement towards evidence-based policies."

Alas, as you know, the current federal government hates evidence. 
Matt also said, "There's more focus now on harm reduction, on 
treatment and prevention, on health promotion."

And that sounds sensible; alas, the current federal government would 
rather punish people than help them stay healthy or get better.

Does decriminalization of drugs work? The evidence from Portugal 
suggests is does. Matt said, "In 10 years, the rates of crime there 
have dropped and public heath is better."

He made a point of noting that harm reduction and decriminalization 
are not incentives for young people to use drugs. He said, "If you 
want little Timmy to smoke crack, then criminalize it."

Because, you know, little Timmy is happy to stick it in your eye when 
you forbid him to do anything, and when you send cops to his school 
to tell him drugs are bad he might think, hmm, if cops think drugs 
are bad then they must be worth a try.

Sigh.

Anyway, as you know, there is a spectrum of drug use: some people 
will never use, some people will use sometimes, and some people will 
become chronic users.

Of chronic use Matt said, "It tends to result from early childhood 
trauma - physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect; drug use, at the 
extreme end, is almost always the symptom of a problem. People use 
drugs to cope with immense amounts of pain."

His knowledge of these things is personal and professional, and 
that's all I'm going to say out of respect for him and the people he 
works with.

He also said, rather pointedly, "The harm caused by alcohol is 
greater than the harm caused by all other substances combined." I flinched.

So, OK, the paper recommends decriminalization; is that a big deal 
from a public policy perspective? He said, "It's the first time I've 
seen the CPHA take such a radical stance. The only ones firmly in 
support of criminalization are police."

And maybe that's why the woman in the corner was slapping herself.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom