U.S. officials tell Tories war on drugs has failed

Letter suggests decriminalization
The Ottawa Citizen (Canada)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A high-profile group of current and former U.S. law enforcement officials has written to the Conservative government with a surprising message: Take it from us, the war on drugs has been a “costly failure.” The officials are urging Canada to reconsider mandatory minimum sentences for “minor” marijuana offences under its “tough-on-crime bill” and say a better approach would be to legalize marijuana under a policy of taxation and regulation.