Pubdate: Fri, 14 Aug 2015 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company Contact: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168 Author: Daniel Bear Note: Daniel Bear is a professor in the school of public safety at Sheridan College Page: A11 CALL A TRUCE IN THE WAR ON DRUGS Crack down on drug labs, put heroin users at unnecessary risk and maintain strict prohibition of cannabis. These are the core values of the Conservatives' recently announced drug policies set to be enacted if they are re-elected. This tough-on-drugs message is as outdated as it is uninformed by the scientific evidence. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is adamant that cannabis should remain an illegal drug because he believes it to be very dangerous. The science says otherwise, and we know that there are very limited dangers associated with cannabis. As a society we are well versed in taxing, regulating and educating the public about all manner of substances found to be far more dangerous than cannabis. It is time to acknowledge the scientific evidence and enact cannabis policies appropriate to its risks. Even the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police wants to see cannabis decriminalized, but Mr. Harper has ignored their proposal. We cut smoking rates through public education, not prohibition. Mr. Harper also claims that the regulation of cannabis in Colorado, and decriminalization of drugs in Portugal, has had disastrous results. This is simply not the case. While there was an unsurprising increase in the number of individuals of all ages using cannabis after legalization in Colorado, the use of other drugs continued to decline, tax revenue streamed in and crime rates fell. Portugal has had incredible results after implementing its drug decriminalization program. The use of heroin is down dramatically in young people, as are deaths from opiate overdose, a problem currently vexing Canada and the United States. Portugal has succeeded because they treat drug abuse as a health problem, not simply a criminal justice problem. On the topic of opiates, Mr. Harper is clear in his intention to ignore both science and the Supreme Court, and unnecessarily expose injection drug users to harm. His plan would effectively block the creation of safe injection facilities. In these places, health professionals can oversee individuals injecting drugs, provide medical help and clean injection equipment and act as a point of contact for drug users to engage with social services. Mr. Harper paints these facilities as a blight on any neighborhood where they operate. Safe injection facilities help prevent the spread of communicable diseases, save lives, and there is no evidence that they reduce public safety. Public health policy should not be guided by rhetoric aimed at scaring communities into turning their backs on a vulnerable population. Mr. Harper has also proposed increasing funding to target drug labs. Of course we want to remove drug labs that can cause significant harm to local communities, but this tactic has not worked in the past, and shows no reason that an additional $4.5-million will change the outcome. The "War on Drugs" is lost and it is time to take a less heroic but smarter stance. Mr. Harper's proposal would be appropriate if made at the height of the drug war, but is not in line with the current best practices and scientific evidence we have regarding drug policy. Even the U.S., once champion of some of the harshest drug laws, has begun to move away from boogeyman-inspired rhetoric about drugs and adopt less punitive policies. It is not easy to admit you're wrong, and even harder to embrace populations long stigmatized, but we must take a utilitarian approach and do what is right, logical and abundantly positive for us as a society. Mr. Harper's plan is none of those things. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom