Vancouver MP speaks out against Bill C-15

Libby Davies, MP for Vancouver East (including Downtown Eastside) spoke stongly against Bill C-15 in Parliament last March.

Libby’s speech was reprinted at the LEAP website. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is one the the strongest voices for drug policy reform in North America. In fact, on September 19th a New York Times Op-Ed Piece actually declared LEAP to be the “most effective” drug reform organization in America.

Libby’s speech from last spring is well-worth reading. Here’s a bit of what she said:

About 73% of federal dollars on drug policy in Canada go toward enforcement. Only 2.6% goes to prevention, only 2.6% goes to harm reduction and about 14% to treatment. That is a very uneven balance…
It might interest people to know that in 1994, 28% of Canadians reported having used illicit drugs, but by 2004 that number was at 45%. Certainly, the policies we have had that have been so focused on the criminal regime and the criminalization of drug users have been completely ineffective. We only have to look south of the border, where the so-called war on drugs has unleashed billions and billions of dollars and where we see massive numbers of people incarcerated, to see what a failure it is…
This bill would take a radical departure from that four-pillar approach by emphasizing the enforcement regime even more, taking it to some greater lengths by bringing in a regime of mandatory minimum sentencing. I think this is a huge mistake. There is no question that it is the core of the Conservative government’s agenda around crime. It is about the political optics. I have called it the politics of fear. People are concerned about drug use and crime in their communities. They are particularly concerned about young people being involved in using drugs. However, this bill will not deal with that. This bill will not change that situation. In fact, the evidence from both Canada and the United States shows us that the opposite will happen. It will only make the situation worse.

See LEAP reprint in its entirety here. Thanks for speaking “truth to power” Libby.

The ‘war on drugs’ shows no sign of ending

Late last Spring CTV in Toronto did a series of features on aspects of the war on drugs. One article in particular summarizes the current situation and makes reference to the Conservative’s Bill C-15 which proposes increased mandatory minimums for a number of drug offenses. The article notes that Canada would be following the American approach, and that despite locking up people at a greater rate than any other country, the availability of dope of all kinds is greater than ever before in the U.S.

In contrast to the Conservative’s approach, Toronto lawyer Edward Sapiano argues for a change in drug policy:

Defence lawyer Edward Sapiano thinks the so-called “war on drugs” has primarily benefited big-time dealers.

The economics are simple: Restricting supply in the face of constant demand means more profits for those in the dirty business of drugs, he said.

Because of the profits involved, criminals are willing to engage in violence to control the drug trade.

“We would almost certainly see a significant drop in crime rates if we not only decriminalized, but legalized, regulated and taxed” currently illegal drugs, Sapiano said.

Accompanying the article are 8 videos. The videos actually comprise the bulk of the reporting and thus they should be viewed. Check out this feature story here

User activist from Victoria dies…

Randy Beddow, a long-time activist with the Society of Living Intravenous Drug Users (SOLID), died on October 4th in his apartment in Victoria. Randy will be missed by friends and comrades. We last had the privilege of seeing Randy at the Pacific Summit on Drug User Health in Vancouver last May.

Randy’s passing was noted in an article in the Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper. Read the online article here.

Going the wrong way with drug crime sentencing… Bill C-15

Canada is currently screwing up re: drug policy. This is because the Conservatives are setting the policy and the opposition won’t bring the government to task on their law and order war on drugs approach. Of course, one of the reasons why the Conservatives are going the direction they are is because they know such “tricks” work with the public. Hysteria and simplistic crime policy attracts an uneducated public, and no Liberal opposition worth its salt is going to try and stand up for a sane, evidence based approach if it takes too much educating of the public. Sad state of affairs. So the pragmatic, i.e. good with the public con job, Conservatives are taking their law and order stance no only for the ideological reasons, but also because they know they can garner the support of the ignorant, knee-jerkers.

Caleb Chepesiuk, a staff member with Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CCSDP), has written a good editorial about Bill C-15 at Rabble.ca. Caleb argues that the best way to take drugs from the grip of organized crime to is societally regulate (i.e. legalize or decriminalize) the provision of currently illicit substances in Canada (as other countries are beginning to take steps towards).

Canadians may need to take a strong, ‘tough’ stance against organized crime. What could be tougher on organized crime than taking away its profit source by successfully re-regulating drugs?

Read Caleb’s piece, written October 9, 2009, at Rabble here

B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS has written a concise statement critiquing the Conservative’s direction for drug policy and sentencing reform entitled “Incarceration does not deter drug use”. Download it from Drug War Survivor’s website : here