Personal Privacy Before Police Convenience
April 16, 2007 - Regina Leader-Post (SK)

For the second time in 18 months, the RCMP is backing legislation that would force Internet service providers to surrender personal information like names, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, IP addresses and physical addresses . . . without prior approval of a judge.

Police also want Internet and wireless providers to add "intercept ability" to their networks -- making it easier for police to conduct electronic eavesdropping once they have obtained a court order. More...

Conservative policymakers have long arugued that minimum sentences are effective deterrents. But the harshness of the penalty is not what deters someone from committing a crime; rather, it's the likelihood of getting caught, says Barry Beyerstein, a member of the Canadian Centre for Drug Policy.

And mandatory minimum sentences are a bad idea on principle. In western legal systems, part of the reason everyone gets their own trial is that the circumstances of individual cases are always unique.

Politicians have no business making pre-ordained decisions on the future of people brought before the courts. A judge who has heard the case from start to finish should be the only person to decide what penalties are appropriate.

Simply put, it's too draconian to pass a law that ignores mitigating circumstances. More...

Myths and hysteria bad basis for drug laws
Governments' approach to substance abuse is informed more by superstition than science.
Vancouver Sun - March 31, 2007

Science takes a back seat to headlines and deadlines, which makes our communities the captives not of drug habits but of drug hysteria.

That, in essence, is the message delivered by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, in a report released this week titled Comparing the Perceived Seriousness and Actual Costs of Substance Abuse in Canada.

According to the centre, the "direct social and economic costs associated with alcohol ($7.4 billion) were more than twice the costs associated with illicit drugs (3.6 billion.)" Yet when surveyed, 45 per cent of Canadians identified illicit drug abuse as "very serious," while only 25 per cent thought the same about alcohol abuse. More...

Alcohol is the real problem: study
Canadians wrongly see illicit drugs as more serious social issue
March 29, 2007 - Ottawa Citizen

Days after the federal government unveiled a budget that earmarked $64 million for a national anti-drug strategy, a new report says the social and economic costs associated with alcohol are twice as high as those racked up by illegal drug use.

The study says Canadians have an exaggerated view of the harms associated with illegal drugs, possibly fueled by vivid media reports, and the emphasis given the subject by police organizations, political leaders and policy-makers. More...

Do “Skunk” Stats Stink?
British newspapers clash over drug war: is super-cannabis turning users schizo?
March 27, 2007 - STATS at George Mason University

Britain is in the middle of a newspaper war about whether some newspapers went too far in advocating liberalization of the nation’s drug laws. On Monday, the Daily Telegraph ran a front-page headline “Skunk killed my beloved son,” wherein a mother recounted the suicide of her teenage son, after a descent into “cannabis induced psychosis.” More...

Drug strategy highlights security funding
Also money for spy agency, initiative to interview first-time applicants for gun licences
March 19, 2008 - CanWest News Service

A key element of the redrawn plan will be on law enforcement, and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's budget speech reiterated the government's intention to introduce minimum mandatory prison terms for serious crimes involving drugs
...

Eliminated from the strategy, on the other end of the spectrum, will be money spent on harm reduction, including supervised injection sites and needle-exchange programs. More...

Illegal drugs can be harmless, report says
March 8, 2007 - Guardian Unlimited (UK)

Illegal drugs can be "harmless" and should no longer be "demonised", a wide-ranging two-year study concluded today.

The report said Britain's drug laws were "not fit for purpose" and should be torn up in favour of a system which recognised that drinking and smoking could cause more harm. More...

Media Coverage of MAPS' DEA Lawsuit
February 23, 2007 - Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)

An administrative law judge for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently ruled that a professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst should be allowed to grow marijuana in a licensed facility.

Judge Mary Ellen Bittner found that some reputable scientists have been denied access to the government's supply and that providing an alternative source "would be in the public interest."

Here's a podcast summarizing the background of the case and the implications of this momentous, but non-binding, decision from DEA Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner.

Listen to a podcast

Vancouver and Toronto are the only cities in Canada with U.S. law enforcement hubs, although one is in the works for Montreal. Senior U.S. agents in Ottawa oversee the work of the hubs. But the total number of U.S. agents in Canada remains classified.

The RCMP, by way of comparison, says it has four RCMP liaison officers based in the whole of the U.S. Two are in Washington, D.C. and two in Miami, Fla.
...

But civil liberty and sovereignty watchdog groups are concerned about the encroachment of U.S. agents working in Canada. They say it's unclear how the agents' work is monitored and whether information is being gathered on Canadians.

Many Conservative voters see drug legalization as another left-wing cause that would erode Canada’s social fabric — and Harper’s unequivocal position no doubt reflects that thinking.

Legalization, however, does not mean condoning drug use. It means, first of all, striking the hardest blow possible against organized crime.

Isn’t that the theme of Harper’s “law and order” stance? More...

Harper admits he's picking judges to advance Tory law-and-order aims
February 14, 2007 - The Canadian Press

Stephen Harper is frankly admitting that he's looking for judges who will back his law-and-order agenda - and provoking cries from his opponents that he's trying to subvert the judiciary for political ends.

"We are bringing forward laws to make sure that we crack down on crime - that we make our streets and communities safer," the prime minister declared in the Commons on Wednesday. "We want to make sure our selection of judges is in correspondence with those objectives." More...

Prosecutor says drug war isn't working
February 13, 2007 - Rutland Herald (Vermont)

In Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand's view, the war on drugs and the war in Iraq have too much in common.

Both are based on misinformation to the public, he said.

Both are based on deliberately misleading information, he added.

And both, he said, have "no foreseeable end in sight." More...

POLL: Canadians See Drug Offences as Illness, Not Crime
Feb 1, 2007 - Angus Reid Global Monitor

Drug-driving Test Fails Public Exam
Dec. 15, 2006 - Rotorua Daily Post (New Zealand)

U.S. has say in Tory drug strategy
December 12, 2006- Montreal Gazette

Conservative ministers and their aides are consulting with "keen" U.S. government officials on a new national drug strategy, according to internal documents obtained by CanWest.

"There have been various senior-level meetings between U.S. officials and ministers/minister's offices," states a summary of a June 16, 2006, meeting on the Tory drug initiative involving top federal bureaucrats at nine federal departments and agencies.

"U.S. officials have been keen to discuss drug issues with the current government." More...

Ontario Conservative Leader John Tory used marijuana as a high school and university student, once favoured lighter sentences for pot traffickers and even drove while "stoned."

The revelations are contained in a 30-year-old newspaper column Tory wrote as a law student for Obiter Dicta, the official student newspaper of Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. More...

The law-and-order agenda of the Harper Conservative government has made police one of the most powerful and influential lobby groups on Parliament Hill.

After years of being bystanders in Parliament's corridors of power, police meet with cabinet ministers while they are crafting law-and-order legislation; they often stand at the government's side when announcements are made; and they enjoy generous access to senior politicians who frequently accept invitations to speak at police events.

"There's obviously a tendency on the part of this government to pander to police interests," laments Louise Botham, president of the Criminal Lawyers Association, which defends the rights of the accused. More...

Legalizing part of the drug trade would see it treated as are tobacco and alcohol, the report says.

Drug addictions would become health problems, rather than criminal justice issues.

"The trade would be subject to reasonable taxes that could be directed to the health-care system," ensuring the problems drugs create would be cared for by revenue the trade would also generate. More...

Police get say in judge selection
Law-and-order representatives will sit on judicial advisory committees
November 8, 2006 - Winnipeg Free Press

Canada's cops are about to get a say over who can be a federal judge under changes Justice Minister Vic Toews is set to unveil soon.

The latest part of the Tories' law-and-order agenda will see police representatives added to the judicial advisory committees operating in each province that assess the qualifications of potential judges.

But given the way Toews has previously railed against activist judges with Liberal ties, his plan to reform the system is also raising suspicions his real goal is to make it easier to put a Tory stamp on the country's judiciary. More...

Most Canadians OK with medicinal marijuana: poll
Findings also show almost half back legalization
November 2, 2006 - Ottawa Citizen

In a nationwide survey, 93 per cent of Canadians indicated they accept the idea of people legally smoking marijuana for health reasons.

Support for the overall legalization of marijuana is also strong, with almost half of Canadians giving it a hearty thumbs up -- the same percentage of people who, in a 2004 Health Canada sponsored survey were found to have smoked cannabis in their lifetime. More...

Excerpt:
The ruling in the trafficking case of Calgary pot crusader Grant Krieger must be the most expected decision in the history of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Juries have been empowered to ignore judges and laws they consider unjust - known as jury nullification - for several hundred years.

The top court, in a no-nonsense 7-0 judgment last week, had to remind lower-court judges not to tamper with jury deliberations. More...

The $2.1-million deal requires contractor Prairie Plant Systems to supply 1,712 lbs of pot throughout the year, up 85 per cent from the previous annual total. More...

Joint study by two groups finds pot use higher in B.C. than rest of country
October 4, 2006 - cyberpresse.ca

Excerpt:
But Fischer [co-author of the study] acknowledges that "the legal system and the enforcement side is not interested in losing that jurisdiction because it's tied to resources."

"If we make cannabis control a health issue tomorrow, the enforcement side would lose a lot of dollars (from its budgets)."
---

See also: It's official: B.C. smokes the most pot
October 5, 2006 - Victoria Times Colonist

Excerpt:
Meanwhile, the study, which calls cannabis "Canada's favourite illicit recreational drug," also exploded the myth of the super-potent "B.C. Bud."

According to RCMP data from 2004, the THC content of marijuana seized in B.C. is not significantly different from that of cannabis seized in other provinces. THC is the active ingredient in cannabis.
---

Download full 12-page report in PDF format:
Cannabis Use in British Columbia: patterns of use, perceptions, and public opinion as assessed in the 2004 Canadian Addiction Survey

Related Blog: Almost 600,000 reasons Harper’s pot policy doomed

Watch the Debate

Mason Tvert of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation debates Colorado Attorney General John Suthers on Amendment 44. September 26, 2006
Watch the Debate

[Judge Saunderson] criticized the cops for characterizing cannabis as a "moral issue."

"It is a legal issue, not a moral one," he said in a ruling I think every judge should consider. "Morality is concerned with the goodness or badness of human character or behaviour or with the distinction between right and wrong. The criminal prohibition against cannabis has nothing to do with that, Saunderson said." more...

RCMP media relations officers in B.C. should consider being less helpful to
reporters in an effort to reduce the number of crime stories in the media,
an internal RCMP report obtained by The Vancouver Sun recommends.

The report, prepared last year by the Mounties' B.C. communications section,
argues the public has an irrational fear of crime -- mainly due to the large
number of crime stories in newspapers and newscasts.

Those stories, the report found, are often sparked by RCMP news releases or
comments from officers. more...

How Legalizing Drugs Will End the Violence
July 28, 2006 - By Norm Stamper
(Norm Stamper is former chief of the Seattle Police Department)

If Steven Soderbergh's gritty 2000 film "Traffic" caused you to squirm in your seat, the real-life story of Mexican drug dealing is even more disquieting. more...

Home Office opens door to lighter drug penalties
July 9, 2006
The Observer (UK)

A review ordered by Charles Clarke before he quit as Home Secretary, is understood to propose dropping the 35-year-old system under which all illegal substances are categorised as either Class A, B or C with corresponding penalties.

Instead it proposes ranking drugs along a 'spectrum of harm' ranging from those which almost never kill their users and cause minimal social impact, such as tranquillisers, to substances such as heroin that cause fatal overdoses and fuel crime by addicts. more...

The meth epidemic that isn't
Despite scary-sounding news reports to the contrary, crystal meth use remains very, very rare
July 7, 2006
The Ottawa Citizen

Reporters like to see themselves as skeptics but when it comes to the police, far too many are as wide-eyed as toddlers and their reporting is little more than stenography. more...

PS warning that Tories' crime laws won't work was ignored
Mandatory prison terms ineffective, lawyers told new justice minister
July 6, 2006
Ottawa Citizen

The Tories apparently ignored the advice from Justice Department lawyers, which was contained in a briefing book for Justice Minister Vic Toews released yesterday through an Access to Information request.

"Research into the effectiveness of mandatory minimum sentences has established that they do not have any obvious special deterrent or educative effect and are no more effective than less serious sanctions in preventing crime," said the briefing book. more...

California city lightens up on marijuana users
AFP - June 21, 2006

WEST HOLLYWOOD, United States (AFP) - Marijuana users in West Hollywood were breathing easier after the city passed a resolution to deprioritize policing of pot infractions. more...

Pot Smoking Not Linked to Lung Cancer
Study Shows No Increased Risk for Even the Heaviest Marijuana Smokers
May 23, 2006
WebMD Medical News

"We know that there are as many or more carcinogens and co-carcinogens in marijuana smoke as in cigarettes," researcher Donald Tashkin, MD, of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine tells WebMD. "But we did not find any evidence for an increase in cancer risk for even heavy marijuana smoking." more...

1 in 136 U.S. Residents Behind Bars
May 21, 2006
Associated Press

Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, which supports alternatives to prison, said the incarceration rates for blacks were troubling.

"It's not a sign of a healthy community when we've come to use incarceration at such rates," he said.

Mauer also criticized sentencing guidelines, which he said remove judges' discretion, and said arrests for drug and parole violations swell prisons.

"If we want to see the prison population reduced, we need a much more comprehensive approach to sentencing and drug policy," he said. more...

Single joint leads to trafficking charge for high school student
May 17, 2006
CBC News

A Newfoundland and Labrador high school student is facing a charge of trafficking following an incident involving a single marijuana cigarette.

...

RCMP Cpl. Phil Feltmate said the police wanted to educate students about the seriousness of the incident.

"We're trying to get a message out to other kids or like-minded people around all the schools … that we are promoting zero tolerance," Feltmate said.

"Moving … from one person to another is considered trafficking, whether it's one joint or 10 tonnes. It doesn't make a big difference with respect to the definition." more...

The war on drug reform
May 6, 2006
National Post (Editorial)

The law passed by Mexico's Congress last week but now set to be blocked by Mexican President Vicente Fox under intense U.S. pressure, was a lucid response to that problem. more...

[Sen. Pierre Claude Nolin] argued that current drug laws discriminate unfairly against young people, who are more likely to look suspicious to police and lack a private place to use drugs.

"We shouldn't try to ban the substance. We should try to prevent problematic use of it," Nolin said.

If government controlled the sale of marijuana, it would take the pot trade out of the hands of organized criminals and ensure the drug is not laced with other drugs or harmful chemicals, he said.

Simple decriminalization of pot possession addresses neither of these issues, Nolin added. more...

Not another drug strategy
May 3, 2006
North Shore News (CN BC)

Is it not the legitimate role of government, which got us into this mess in the first place by creating the hysteria over drugs, to undo that and properly prepare and equip Canadians - in other words, to lead? more...

U.S. district attorney has advice for Canada: don't emulate U.S. drug laws
May 2, 2006
CNEWS

"My advice to Canada is stay as completely far away from U.S. drug law policy as possible," said David Soares, the district attorney for Albany County in the state of New York. more...

Mexico's Fox to OK drug decriminalization law
WashingtonPost.com
May 2, 2006

"Mexico's president will approve a law that decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and other drugs to concentrate on fighting violent narco gangs, the government said on Tuesday [May 2, 2006]."

From bad to worse on drug policy?
Edmonton Sun
May 1, 2006

"My fear is that we're going to fall more and more into the pocket of the American war-on-drugs approach," says Eugene Oscapella of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy.

"We're doing a bad enough job on our own but we don't need to go ahead and make it worse by getting more deeply involved in that punitive criminal justice approach, which doesn't work." more...