For decades now, governments in the U.S. and Canada have called it the “war on drugs”. During that time, North American societies have been steadily loosing the war. Oh, once and awhile the authorities will declare publicly that they have won a battle or two with splashy media announcements about some large drug bust — all the while privately admitting that such seizures realistically represent only the tip of the iceberg. Still, politicians ramble on that putting all the illicit drug pushers in jail will resolve everything. Last fall, the Canadian Government’s new drug laws came into force. The measures, part of the so-called Safe Streets and Communities Act, provide for a mandatory six-month jail term for growing as few as six marijuana plants. Hell, I knew a guy in college who would use this amount alone as his personal stash just to help keep away the heebie-jeebies while in school.
We all can agree that the many consequences of substance abuse are tragic, including those leading to incidences of violence, including child abuse, spousal abuse, homicides, rape, suicide, and close to 100% of date rapes. Indeed, if you compare the illegal drugs to prescription drugs and alcohol, a lot more people die today from prescription drug and alcohol abuse. Our crowded prisons are already full of persons incarcerated for crimes committed while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Some have estimated that eighty percent of kids in the juvenile justice system are there because of problems related to substance abuse. Yet politicians, in their usual myopic way of short-term thinking, still turn to the ineffectual use of mandatory sentencing.
On the other hand, some might argue that substance abuse and addiction are symptomatic of an increasingly sick society; one in which such factors as poverty, inequality of opportunity, illiteracy, high unemployment, homelessness, etc., etc., are pervasive. As in other areas of social policy, some would see a greater need to tackle many of the underlying causes by applying our limited resources and commitments to seriously addressing these socio-economic issues. There is also a desperate need for more treatment facilities, particularly those designed to treat juveniles and assist affected families. An estimated 9 out of 10 drug addicts start substance abuse before the age of 18. Addiction is a disease, it is both preventable and treatable. If only we could get the politicians, national and local, to recognize this fact. We just might then begin the long process required to get a real handle on this important issue.
FROLITICKS 