Pubdate: Thu, 09 Apr 2015
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.montrealgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274
Author: Mark Kennedy
Page: A14

HARPER STANDS BY HIS DRUG STANCE

Hard line against decriminalization runs contrary to other leaders

Prime Minister Stephen Harper may find himself at odds with some other
western hemisphere leaders who want to relax drug laws for offences
such as marijuana use and provide alternatives to jail time.

Harper flies Friday to Panama for the two-day Summit of the Americas,
where more than 30 leaders from the Organization of American States
(OAS) will gather.

There has been a growing movement among some of those nations -
particularly those in South America devastated by violence from drug
cartels - to find new ways to tackle the drug problem.

At the past summit, in Colombia in 2012, Harper resisted calls to
consider decriminalization of some drugs.

On Wednesday, the prime minister's spokesman indicated Harper hasn't
changed his mind.

"We are opposed to decriminalization because dangerous and addictive
drugs tear families apart, promote criminal behaviour and destroy
lives," Rob Nicol, the prime minister's director of communications,
said in a written statement.

He said the Conservative government's "comprehensive strategy" to
fight drug use in Canada is "working" - pointing to a reduction of 30
per cent in self-reported marijuana use by youths since 2008.

Nicol said Canada has made a solid contribution to combating drug
trafficking in the Americas, noting that since 2009 the country has
invested $28 million to Caribbean security programs.

But the OAS is seized with the issue. It says there is "consensus" on
four points: the drug problem needs to be attacked from a "public
health perspective"; reforms must be enacted to "provide alternatives
to incarceration"; organized crime is a "major player" in the problem;
and it's essential to strengthen judicial and law-and-order
institutions in some countries.

OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza says the "war on drugs"
hasn't worked and that it is time to have a debate about solutions
"without fear of breaking taboos."

In a recent report, he urged OAS countries to work collectively, and
should "review the severity of sentences" for drug users.

"The quest for alternatives to incarceration for drug-dependent
offenders or for individuals who commit minor offences in the drug
trafficking chain is another pressing need today," he wrote.

"Clearly, it takes time to change laws and policies and we never
expected change overnight. Forty years of the 'war on drugs' have
spawned a host of provisions, entrenched bureaucracies, and
convictions that do not just go away. For that reason, it is
unreasonable to expect that the changes needed will come about at the
same time, in all countries, and promptly."

With a federal election set for Oct. 19, Harper is aware drug policy
will be an issue on the campaign trail.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau will advocate legalizing marijuana
through a regulated system - a move the party says would take pot out
of the hands of organized crime and make it harder for young people to
obtain.

But Harper's Conservatives say the change would lead to more drug use
by Canadians, including youth.

The government has been considering a plan to let police issue tickets
to people caught with small amounts of marijuana, instead of laying
criminal charges. The Tories say that if they move ahead with these
changes, it would not decriminalize or legalize marijuana possession
in Canada, but rather, give police officers a new tool to enforce drug
laws.

On a related front, the Conservative-dominated House of Commons passed
a bill last month that makes it difficult to open safe-injection sites
for drug users.

The bill was in response to the Supreme Court decision in 2011 that
upheld the existence of Vancouver's Insite drug clinic because it
delivered health benefits without substantial negative effects on the
community.

The OAS spent the past three years conducting extensive research on
the drug issue. It released a 2013 report suggesting a blueprint for
debate among OAS nations.

"National, hemispheric, and international drug policies have gradually
come to view addiction as a chronic and recurrent illness requiring a
health-oriented approach involving a wide range of interventions," the
report said.

"The fundamental change in perspective has been to shift from viewing
drug users as criminals or accomplices of drug-traffickers to seeing
them as victims and chronic addicts."

The report also stressed that "decriminalization" of drug use needs to
be "considered as a core element" of any strategy.
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MAP posted-by: Matt