by Francis Dutton

Created on: April 26, 2008

I'm old enough to remember when the "War on Drugs" was initiated with great fanfare and hope. Parents, educators and politicians believed the battle could be won. All it would take would be dedication, commitment, and adequate funding. Billions of dollars later and littered with burned-out workers, society and its efforts to wipe-out the drug culture pale in comparison to the financial resources of the drug cartels, the number of imprisoned users, and the legitimate services associated with surveillance, investigation and punishment.

Despite our best intentions and best practices, we have failed completely to bring about a drug-free society, a place where our youth can be free from pressure to use drugs, or a place where our urban citizens can safely walk the downtown streets at any time. Drug users constitute a small percentage of our population, yet what they need to do to gain access to the money to purchase drugs, restricts the freedom of most of the people in an urban environment. Prisons, we hope, are places where dangerous criminals can be punished or isolated from harming others, yet our prisons are primarily filled with people whose only crime was the need to find drugs.

More and more innocent, law-abiding people are becoming victims of others in search of the means to purchase or gain drugs. Drug users themselves are frequently victims of violent crimes. No one grows up with the career aspiration of "I want to be a user and live on the street and get ripped off as much as possible." No drug user says, "I'd rather steal, cheat and betray my friends, than use drugs." Yet we treat users as if they are making these career and life choices.

There is still one solution that is the most powerful and effective way to eliminate virtually all of the problems associated with drug culture. There is still one essential method that can end the war on drugs. And only Canada is poised and strong enough to put this solution into practice. Legalize and regulate all drugs.

A minority of people believe that legalized drugs will lead to an increase in users. This is unlikely to happen. No one leading a healthy, satisfying, confidence-filled life will suddenly say, "Gee, maybe things would be better if I went down to the clinic and got a dose of heroin."

There are people who believe that drug use leads to criminal behaviour. Only a minority of people will engage in dangerous and violent acts when their judgment is impaired. And most of these people engage in these acts to get

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