Canada's Proposed Bill C-15.

During the 80’s and 90’s the mandatory sentencing laws for even minor drug offenders introduced by the conservative wings of the U.S. government has lead to 1 in every 31 adults being incarcerated in either a jail or prison at any given time. Never mind the enormous burden on an economy, these policies now around twenty-years old, have not shown to decrease the amount of drugs consumed, grown, or imported one iota. This in spite of regular reports showing that one specific drug or another is in the decline, and being touted as a sign of victory in the war on drugs, what these studies never show is that consistently the downturn of one type of illegal substance is replaced by the increased popularity of another. In reality, the war on drugs has not made a dent in the popularity of drugs. It does not take an enormous amount of logic, education, or even study, to simply look at Mexico currently, or at the U.S. during the 80’s, to figure out that stricter, and nonsensical policies not only do not keep people safe, but inevitably lead to greater violence.

To go off on a small tangent, and to clarify my point: simply look at Las Vegas when casinos were run by mobsters, compared to now, when they are run by corporations. Which was the safer environment? Look at the days of alcohol prohibition, compared to now, when did more people die from the now legal drug? More and more, as information is available to anyone with an internet connection, and as people are more willing and able to educate themselves on the actual facts, as opposed to basing their ideas about drug legalization on nothing more than a gut feeling, we see more and more people calling for legalization.

This is not only the opinion of pot heads with too much time on their hands. My opinions are based not on a desire to sell or take anything, only on common sense, and the research I’ve done blogging on this subject for going on a year now.

With more and more States of our Union taking the smart step forward, and legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, and rolling back sentencing for small amounts of marijuana, there is a predictable backlash from the more puritan segments of society.

(I was going to go with the flag, I think this is a better representation of Canada, maybe it’s just me)

Canada, who has been hailed as far more progressive in their stance on drugs than their southern neighbors, has proposed Bill C-15.

It’s eerily similar to the mandatory type sentencing for minor drug offenses made popular in the U.S. during the 80’s. Among some of the provisions: A minimum and mandatory sentence of six months in prison for a single marijuana plant. More if grown on someone else’s property, or “where it could harm kids,” – as if any plant but poison ivy or oak could ever harm a child, and as if they would know or care what to do with the plant even if they knew what it was.

Here are some recent stats on Canadian prisons provided by http://www.straight.com/:

> Total correctional-services expenditures in 2005-06: almost $3 billion

> Share spent on custodial services or prisons: 71 percent

> Associated policing and court costs in 2005-06: more than $10 billion

> Number of correctional facilities in Canada in 2005-06: 192

> Annual cost of incarcerating a federal female prisoner in 2004-05: $150,000 to $250,000

> Annual cost of incarcerating a federal male prisoner in 2004-05: $87,665

> Daily cost of incarcerating a provincial prisoner in 2004-05: $141.78

> Daily cost of alternatives such as probation, bail supervision, and community supervision: $5 to $25

And like in the U.S. these stats are bound to get gloomier if this bill is passed.
http://www.narconews.com/