| Say No to Bill C-15 Letters to Editor |
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Caleb wrote a letter to the editor speaking out against Bill C-15, which got printed in several Ottawa newspapers. Ottawa Citizen, December 18, 2009 The amendments the Senate made to Bill C-15 hardly "soften" the legislation, especially when considering how many of the Senate committee witnesses called for the bill to be dropped entirely. This is a deeply flawed bill, and if passed into law, it will force Canada to continue to invest disproportionately in criminally enforcing drug prohibition, instead of investing in a public health-based model. This approach provides realistic solutions of education and harm-reduction measures. Canadian drug policy is traditionally enacted in the name of protecting youth but it is aimed at punishing youth for what is a socially accepted practice. This bill will not protect youth from the dangers of drug use or organized crime. Mandatory minimum sentences have shown they do not deter drug use, and drug-free zone policies have shown to be ineffective and expensive. I work with Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a youth and student-run organization telling the government to "just say no" to bad drug policy and drop Bill C-15. Caleb Chepesiuk, Ottawa Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy Ottawa Sun, December 15, 2009. If we want to be serious about enacting drug policy to protect young Canadians, we have to reconsider and stop Bill C-15. The amendments the Senate made to Bill C-15 hardly soften the legislation, especially when considering how many of the committee witnesses called for the bill to be dropped entirely. This is a deeply flawed bill, and if passed into law will force Canada to continue to invest disproportionately in criminally enforcing drug prohibition, instead of investing in a health-based model. Canadian drug policy is traditionally enacted in the name of protecting youth. This bill will not protect youth from the dangers of drug use or organized crime. Mandatory minimum sentences have shown they do not deter drug use, and drug-free zone policies have shown to be ineffective and expensive. I work with Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a youth and student run organization telling the government to ‘just say no’ to bad drug policy and drop Bill C-15. Caleb Chepesiuk Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy The Ottawa Sun's Comment - (Glad to see young people getting involved in, and interested in, new legislation) |