Drug War American Style: The Internationalization of Failed Policy and Its Alternatives by Jurg Gerber & Eric L. Jensen

Author:Jurg Gerber & Eric L. Jensen [Gerber, Jurg & Jensen, Eric L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781306580373
Goodreads: 21910621
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2000-12-19T00:00:00+00:00

Pressure to Lessen Disparities between Canadian and American Laws

Pressure on Canadian lawmakers to enact laws more similar to the “zero tolerance” laws enacted in the United States has been evident at least since President Reagan’s declaration of a new “war on drugs” in 1986. We suggest that many of these attempts have been unsuccessful in part due to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter is similar to the U.S. Constitution, in that both outline the rights and privileges of individuals living in each society, and limit the power of the state to transgress these rights. The main difference, however, is that as of yet, there has been little in the way of a “drug exception” to the Charter, unlike the American legal system. Interpretations of the Charter seem less supportive of extreme responses to problems associated, or deemed to be associated, with drugs than has characterized the U.S. approach. However, Canada’s legal system seems to place more weight on scientific and legal evidence to be considered in such cases, and often takes the Charter into account when the laws themselves are drafted. Nevertheless, Canadian law enforcers have showed some initiative to model laws on American examples.

The RCMP’s response to the burgeoning indoor hydroponic marijuana industry illustrates this trend. In a 1995 RCMP report obtained by the Montreal Gazette, the federal police force called for stricter regulations governing the purchase of such items as basins, water pumps, and lamps used to cultivate marijuana indoors. They recommended that businesses selling such equipment be required to record the names and addresses of their customers, and also suggested that some of the owners of these businesses have “criminal connections.” The impetus for this suggestion, the Montreal Gazette article states, is the tougher U.S. approach regarding the sale of items that can be used in marijuana growing operations. However, this suggestion was not incorporated into the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, possibly because the regulations governing commercial transactions fall under provincial, and not federal, jurisdiction (Bronskill, 1997).

In a recent case decided by the Supreme Court of Canada, the Court gave Canadian school officials the right to conduct personal searches of students if they suspect the student is in violation of laws or school rules. The case revolved around a student who was searched in the presence of his school principal and an RCMP officer, and had been found with a small amount of marijuana in a bag in his sock. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court by the Crown after lower courts acquitted the defendant. In the Supreme Court, lawyers for the federal government pointed toward a 1985 U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed for the search of students if there is a “reasonable suspicion” that the search will turn up evidence of improper or unlawful behavior (Bindman, 1998). In a decision favorable to school officials, the Supreme Court upheld the right of educators to use reasonable searches in cases where there is a clear danger to students or the school due to suspected possession of illicit drugs or weapons.

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