Anti-drug strategy flawed

The world’s larger jailer, the United States, made history last month when Washington and Colorado voted to become the first two states in North America to legalize the sale and possession of recreational marijuana.

These ballot initiatives were a slap in the face to supporters of prohibition policies everywhere.

In the same week, Canada’s newly passed drug laws came into full effect. Bill C-10 enforces mandatory minimum sentences of six months for growing as few as six marijuana plants. The bill also increases the maximum penalty for production of Schedule 2 drugs such as cannabis and marijuana from seven to 14 years.

Canada’s anti-drug strategy is severely flawed. While a pragmatic drug strategy focuses on prevention, treatment, intervention and harm reduction, each year 93 per cent of the strategy’s spending goes toward enforcement, a method that does not decrease the production or distribution of drugs.

What such a strategy does is remove young, first-time and, in some cases, mentally ill “offenders” from their communities and warehouse them in a “school” for criminals.

British Columbia’s cannabis industry generates $6 billion to $8 billion in untaxed revenue. Imagine if Canada pursued a strategy similar to that of Washington or Colorado, in which governmental organizations regulate, control and tax the substance, taking money away from criminal gangs and drug cartels.

Canada needs to begin tackling organized crime through evidence-based strategies instead of relying on failed deterrent and tough-on-crime rhetoric, and to begin talking about sensible regulation instead of prohibition.