Praise for Off the Street
Bogarts book is a comprehensive road map to ending the war on drugs, presented with a welcome degree of intelligence and eloquence in a public debate more commonly dominated by emotion and polarized viewpoints. He not only sets out a powerful critique of the failings of prohibition, but offers a compelling vision of the regulated markets that should replace it and how we should achieve the necessary change.
Steve Rolles, Senior Policy Analyst, Transform
Marijuana legalization is upon us. Policy-makers need to listen to those who have worked in the field throughout their careers, and who know what will best ensure public safety while at the same time improving public health. Bill Bogart is one of those people, and his book Off the Street is a how-to for setting up a legal regime for drugs.
Pulling no punches, this is an unvarnished look at illegal drug use and what we should be doing about it. Its recommendations are hard-hitting and thought-provoking. They deserve a close look. Governments, take note.
Paula Mallea, author of The War on Drugs: A Failed Experiment (Dundurn, 2014)
Bill Bogarts research is exhaustive and he makes his case in a manner that is clear and compelling. This is a must-read as we enter a time of legalization and regulation of marijuana and other drugs in Canada that is not without risk. He brings his valuable expertise in societal responses to smoking, alcohol, obesity, and gambling to bear in consideration of how a countrys laws and norms can modify human behaviour. If were to make informed decisions after the failed war on drugs, this eye-opening appeal for a change in public policy is for every concerned citizens bedside table.
Fiona Reid, Actor
Professor Bogart thoroughly explores the complex issues involved in the war on drugs and its many negative societal consequences. Based on careful analysis bolstered by empirical research findings, he convincingly argues that it is time to experiment with the legalization and regulation of marijuana as a first, cautious step toward alleviating the many problems deriving from the bans on recrea-tional drugs. The book should be a must-read for legislators, law enforcement personnel, and law students in both Canada and the U.S. Indeed, it is so straightforward and well-written that it will also be educational for interested laypersons.
Neil Vidmar, Ph.D., Russell M. Robinson II Professor of Law, Duke Law School
Off the Street is a must-read for every parent and every taxpayer but especially for every person involved in the making of Canadas new marijuana policy. It moves beyond political platitudes and succeeds in addressing the tough issues that are involved. In this short and access-ible book, Bogart shows that he has thought deeply about legalizing drugs and the challenges that lie ahead as we head down this path.
Adam Dodek, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, and author of The Canadian Constitution (Dundurn, 2016)
Publishers Message
To shed light on todays cultural, social, economic, and political issues that are shaping our future as Canadians, Dundurns Point of View Books offer readers the informed opinions of knowledgeable individuals.
Whatever the topic, the author of a Point of View book is someone weve invited to address a vital topic because their front-line experience, arising from personal immersion in the issue, gives readers an engaging perspective, even though a reader may not ultimately reach all the same conclusions as the author.
Our publishing house is committed to framing the hard choices facing Canadians in a way that will spur democratic debate in our country. For over forty years, Dundurn has been defining Canada for Canadians. Now our Point of View Books , under the direction of general editor J. Patrick Boyer, take us a further step on this journey of national discovery.
Each author of a Point of View book has an important message, and a definite point of view about an issue close to their heart. Some Point of View Books will resemble manifestos for action, others will shed light on a crucial subject from an alternative perspective, and a few will be concise statements of a timely case needing to be clearly made.
But whatever the topic or whomever the author, all these titles will be eye-openers for Canadians, engaging issues that matter to us as citizens.
J. Kirk Howard
President
Dundurn Press
A Note from the General Editor
In 2015, Canadians elected a majority government with a mandate to decriminalize marijuana.
Anticipating implementation, municipalities granted business licences to entrepreneurs opening marijuana shops. Miffed Canadians whod served time for growing and selling pot watched others now legitimately making money for what was still a crime. Police forces, too, entered a weird limbo state. Enforcing the law, some raided shops which had sprung up overnight like mushrooms, confiscating a contraband substance while generating an outcry and dramatic newscast footage.
There was other news, too: from drugged drivers on the roads (who create hazards by slowness, unlike drunk drivers who speed), to conferences of justice ministers, police, health officials, social workers, and medical professionals seeking a handle on even deeper layers of the drug problem.
If Justin Trudeaus government created a policy vacuum by not acting swiftly, history reminds us of recurring patterns. After his fathers government appointed the Le Dain Commission in 1969, being concerned about the all-pervasive presence of drugs in society, it received back a considered recommendation to decriminalize not just marijuana, but all drugs.
Pierre Trudeaus government, divided over the comprehensive plan, ignored all of Le Dains recommendations. Over ensuing decades, that presence has skyrocketed; Canadas crime level connected to drug use has ascended; and costs have become debilitating.
With explosive popularity of new substances being challenged only by an impotent war on drugs and the risible zero tolerance concept, Bill Bogart renders important national service in the pages that follow. He goes beyond symptoms and addresses the core problem of Canadas dynamic, dangerous, and money-swamped battlefield.
Although no quick fix, Bill Bogarts refreshingly balanced and innovative roadmap for getting drugs off the street is what Canadians have been waiting for.
J. Patrick Boyer
General Editor
Point of View Books
Other Point of View Titles
Two Freedoms
by Hugh Segal
Foreword by Tom Axworthy
Irresponsible Government
by Brent Rathgeber
Foreword by Andrew Coyne
Time Bomb
by Douglas L. Bland
Foreword by Bonnie Butlin
Dedication
To all those who have worked so long and so hard for humane laws and policies regarding drugs.
And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times and strength of salvation.
Isaiah 33:6
Contents
Foreword
I s drug use properly a criminal issue?
In Canada and around the world, the so-called war on drugs has been fought with the weapons of policing, criminal law, and incarceration. There is no evidence, however, that these weapons have been effective in achieving the traditional criminal justice aims of crime reduction, rehabili-tation, or deterrence.
