(Ed. note: The
Calgary Sun’s editorial policy can best be described as Snidely Whiplash with
delusions of being Dudley Dooright. Consequently, this article may be a hint that the
hard-core Canadian prohibitionists have decided that their Noble Experiment is just a
"honest failure.")See "Why is it that
SWAT teams are being used on a daily basis,
sometimes several times a day for drug raids for marijuana?"
and
Constable Says "gateway
theory has been repeatedly refuted by scientific research,
and is simply an unethical scare tactic."
and
Calgary Newspaper
Insists Its Marijuana Doesn’t Deserve It Reputation;
Blames "Underground Drug-world Magazines."
July 6, 1998
From the Calgary Sun
callet@sunpub.com
http://www.canoe.ca/CalgarySun/
By Bill Kaufmann Calgary Sun
LOSING THE DRUG WAR
CRIMINALIZED USERS ARE DEHUMANIZED WHILE WEALTHY DEALERS TAKE SMARMY REFUGE
Gil Puder has waged the war on drugs and seen its failure and attendant propaganda for
what it is.
For Puder, it’s impossible to ignore—he’s a Vancouver police constable
on the un-winnable conflict’s frontline.
The trophies showcased by narcotics officers—their drug seizures—are astutely
identified by Puder as flags of failure.
If the strategy of realizing a relatively drug-free society were working, such
exhibitionism would be infinitely more infrequent. But for now, the tip of the iceberg
show-and-tell is one way to justify their budgets.
It’s only one observation in a compelling recent presentation Puder made to the
conservative Fraser Institute.
The entire police ethos and the mandate to serve and protect has been compromised and
tainted by the counterproductive assault on liberty, personal choice and addiction, writes
Puder.
"The tactics, weaponry and propaganda of our 20th century narcotic
prohibition have been borrowed from a western military model, yet in their misguided
application have generated nothing other than systemic conflict that has overwhelmed our
justice and health-care systems," says Puder.
Certainly, police anti-drug strategies are a product of discredited legislation, but
Puder is clearly repelled by the attitudes and tactics of his colleagues.
An atmosphere of cowboy machismo focused on compiling arrest statistics with little
hope of concrete progress is a hallmark of the narcotics’ units’ world, he says.
Dehumanizing and arresting the criminalized users while wealthy dealers take smarmy
refuge behind their money and lawyers is the daily dichotomy, he adds.
"With fiscal restraint and ‘fear of crime’ combining to place enormous
and often unrealistic expectations on police services, it’s easy to be pessimistic
that open-mindedness will be rediscovered soon," he laments.
He sees the lives of citizens and fellow-officers being risked needlessly to a culture
of violence created by a lucrative black market fueled by prohibition.
In 1984, Puder tasted the horror when he shot to death an addict robbing a bank, armed
with a replica gun.
The four-year head of the Calgary Police Services’ drug unit
dismisses Puder as "absolutely out to lunch."
Puder, adds Staff Sgt. Mike Cullen, would find little sympathy among most officers,
something the maverick cop would undoubtedly wear as a badge of honor.
But at the same time, Cullen agrees the war on drugs is a futile one—with the
resources being allocated now.
"He may be right on that point—it’s not
working," says Cullen, who attended the Fraser Institute conference.
Part of Cullen’s solution: More money for enforcement.
See
Canadian
Police Complain That They Lack Adequate Funding,
But Waste Much Time And Money Looking For Marijuana.
But considering the American experience of pouring tens of billions of dollars down
prohibition’s black hole, it’s a dubious proposition.
To be fair, Cullen also champions two other prongs—harm reduction and education.
Whether law enforcement compliments them is questionable.
"There’s no easy answer," says the staff sergeant.
In the meantime, money and energy that could be used for
education, treatment and other policy alternatives will continue to be wasted on our
streets.
Copyright © 1998, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Supported