WRONG WAR ON DRUGS

Two reports this week appear to indicate that Canada is fighting the wrong
war on drugs.

The first is a $250,000, three-year study by the Canadian Centre for
Substance Abuse that found that abuse of alcohol was the main contributing
factor in one third of assaults, attempted murders and murders. Abuse of
"illicit drugs" was found to be the main factor in seven per cent of such
crimes. Drug abusers, however, become involved in much higher rates of
violent crime when they also abuse alcohol. Common crimes committed by drug
abusers are economic crimes, theft and robbery to support habits.
"Everybody's scared of drug-crazed people slitting their throats in the
streets," said Richard Garlick, author of the study. "It's more likely to
be a good, old-fashioned drunk."

The second, more significant report was released by the Senate Special
Committee on Illegal Drugs. Two years in the making by the "chamber of
sober second thought," it reads like a handout from the Marijuana Party. In
fact, the senators preface their report by noting "some of the conclusions
that emerge from the research may shock some of you."

The first of six findings is that there is no reliable evidence that
cannabis use leads to use of other, more potent drugs, although there is a
great deal of evidence that for at least 90 per cent of users it does not.
Cannabis can lead to a "psychological" dependency in eight to 10 per cent
of users, but they can kick their dependency by "stopping use for a few
days." There is some risk of bronchitis, respiratory diseases and lung
cancer, although this risk has not been established separate of smoking.
There also are positive health effects, all of which are familiar to
advocates for the medical use of marijuana.

Cannabis does impair motor and co-ordination abilities leading to concerns
about driving and the absence of a roadside test for its presence, but
there is no solid evidence of the extent to which drivers are impaired.
There is evidence that users tend to become cautious at the wheel.

Are young persons likely to be victimized? Hard to say because young
persons "are already the principal user group." Does cannabis use lead to
crime? No. Or rather, no it would not if possession were not a crime for
which 1.5 million Canadians have been convicted, a number that continues to
grow at a rate of about 30,000 a year. Finally, the report notes that
federal spending alone to wage a war on drugs costs taxpayers $500 million
a year. The Senate committee will hold public hearings across Canada on its
report in the months ahead. It would seem clear that the focus of those
hearings should be on issues of decriminalization or legalization of
marijuana rather than on trying to find reasons to continue to wage the
wrong war on drugs.