Canadian Politics: Canada's Drug Policy A Bust

It had to happen sooner or later, although probably most of Canada would have preferred later, but it looks like federal politicians are finally recovered from their Christmas break. With them back at work it means we all have to start looking over our shoulders again to see what unpleasant surprises they have in store for us in the upcoming year.

One thing you have to say about this new Conservative Party government is that they are quicker off the mark then previous governments have shown themselves to be. They don't even have to introduce a policy for it to be condemned. They've made their intentions so clear right from the start that everyone knows what's coming and can try and take preventative action.

A prime example of this is Canada's strategy for dealing with the problem of illicit drugs and preventing their usage. In a report to be issued today Canada's record is criticized for being too in favour of law enforcement measures for dealing with illicit drugs, instead of treatment and preventative steps.

Five years ago the Auditor General of Canada said the programming needed to find a more balanced way of dealing with things, but according to the new report, prepared by four authors from the British Columbia Centre For Excellence in HIV/AIDS, government has not done anything to realize that goal. Using information collected through the Freedom on Information Act and the government web sites that promote programming the report shows that 73% of the budget is still being used for law enforcement projects.

The authors also point out that although the Drug Secretariat is supposed to be releasing reports every two years, they have failed to do so since 2003, and they have no system in place for proper evaluation of programming. Programs that are geared at prevention and treatment come under intense scrutiny by the government while the law enforcement programs are renewed without any regard to their success or failure.

The authors of the report point to the fact that there has been no discernable decline in illicit drug use in the past five years to emphasise the failure of programs like DARE, where police officers are sent into schools to preach against drug use, or the special Drug Courts. According to the authors of the report there has never been any scientific proof that law enforcement strategies on their own have any impact on usage numbers.

Even Fredericton Police Chief Barry MacKnight, who chairs the drug abuse committee of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, says that his organization recognizes the need for a balanced approach to dealing with the issue of illicit drug use. Yesterday he confirmed that when he said that they've always endorsed the fact that communities need to deal with the issues of addiction and treatment as much as they do the criminal element.

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the forthcoming book What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and has had his work published in print and on line all over the world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees …

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