Re: MDs join call to end ‘war on drugs,' July 24
We can all applaud doctors Evan Wood and Julio Montaner’s plea to end the war on drugs, but don’t hold your breath. The harm done by the war has long been recognized around the world, but North American governments keep their eye on the economic ball.
Hemp makes better paper than trees, and uses less land, so the paper industry has to support the war. Hemp also makes a nice fabric and hemp oil is good feedstock for chemical plants and for biofuel, so the cotton, chemical and oil industries support the war on drugs.
The American Drug Enforcement Agency buys lots of helicopters and weapons, for their own use and to give to foreign armies, so the military industrial complex supports the war on drugs.
Tens of thousands of North American policemen — especially undercover drug cops who can dress as they please, drink on the job and have hefty expense accounts — support the war. So do the tens of thousands of prison guards who watch the hundreds of thousands of prisoners who are jailed for minor drug offenses.
The businesses of building prisons, operating private prisons and using prisoners as slave labour to produce commercial products also support the war on drugs.
Yes, there are a few drawbacks. The spread of AIDS is one, and the maintenance of drug dealing and the occasional shootout in a food court or block party are regrettable. As civilians we don’t like them but we have to understand that these are economic benefits to the police and prisons establishment.
Like it or not, the war will continue. It’s not morality or public safety, it’s just economics.
Andy Turnbull, Toronto
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