Ending a failed ‘war on drugs’

Re Legalize it, and Trudeau will supervise it, Oct. 8 In his otherwise excellent column on the modern-day “reefer madness” being peddled by the government during this election, Martin Regg Cohn suggests that the NDP has only called for decriminalizing marijuana but that the Liberal party has committed to going the further step of legalizing and regulating the substance.

In fact, last year, both the NDP and the Liberal party went on record, in a House of Commons committee report, as calling for not just decriminalization of cannabis but moving to regulation — an approach increasingly recommended by public health experts, and with which a growing number of jurisdictions are experimenting, with successful results.

In fact, we have recently queried all the major federal political parties about their positions on a number of important reforms needed to Canada’s current misguided “war on drugs” that has only intensified in recent years — including their position regarding how to approach cannabis. Their responses will be released this week, and should provide useful information for voters concerned about ensuring that public policy is based on evidence as well as concern for public health, the public purse and the protection of civil liberties.

All the parties that have responded so far have indicated they support shifting away from the failed model of prohibition. After decades of failure, it’s time to try new approaches. Richard Elliott, executive director, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network