O Cannabis!
Canada rethinks its drug policies
by Jonathan V. Last
10/19/2007

ONE OF THE UNTOLD successes of the Bush administration has been the progress made in the fight against illegal drugs. During the past six years, during which John Walters has been director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, drug use among the most critical American age groups, 12- to 17-year-olds and 18- to 25-year-olds, has fallen dramatically. Usage in these age groups rose between 1993 and 2001, but under Walters, teen drug use, for example, is down more than 20 percent.

Many European governments, faced with the consequences of permissiveness and mounting data on the harmful effects of even soft narcotics such as cannabis, are turning against drugs, too. And now, the Great White North may follow suit. On October 4, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a change in direction for the government's drug policy.

Marijuana has been increasingly tolerated by Canadian authorities, with three bills aiming to legalize possession of the substance introduced in parliament during the last five years. Those measures stalled and Harper has now proclaimed that Canada will embark on a different course, emphasizing treatment for drug users and jail for dealers and producers. the rest