Review of Chapter 3 of Peaceful Measures - Canada's Way Out of the Drug Wars

In his book Peaceful Measures: Canada's Way Out of the 'War on Drugs' Alexander (1990) argues that for over a century, drug-control policy around the world and in Canada have been growing increasingly warlike. The costs of this drug war, in both money and human suffering, have been steadily increasing, although its objectives have not been met. Alexander cites extensive research that indicates that illegal drugs are no more harmful or addictive than legal drugs like …

…use of economic levers against the Third World that will cause the starvation of large numbers of people; widespread use of spies and agents provocateurs by enforcement agencies; imposition of suffering not only on drug traffickers and users, but also on police and medical patients. A final set of casualties in the War on Drugs is the young people, whose serious problems are ignored by a society that simplistically blames drugs instead of real causes.