PETERS – Decriminalizing drug use can’t make the problem much worse

THERE ARE TWO PLAUSIBLE EXTREMES when it comes to the legal system’s handling of drug possession.

On one extreme is Singapore, which has capital punishment and uses it 70 per cent of the time to execute people for drug-related offences.

On the other extreme is the Netherlands, where the attitude is to openly tolerate drug use, even if soft drugs are still technically illegal.

That’s accompanied by a policy to treat soft drug use as a public health issue.

The execution practice of Singapore might be an effective deterrent, but it’s also, suffice it to say, a little less than humane.

Here in Canada, drug use is treated as both a public health and criminal justice issue.

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James Peters is the radio anchor at CFJC, coming to Kamloops in 2006. He anchors the afternoon news on B-100 and 98.3 CIFM, and contributes weekly editorials to the CFJC Evening News. He tweets regularly @Jamloops.