REALity – Volume XXXIV Issue No.9 September 2015
On August 11th, 2015 Prime Minister Harper announced his party’s position on illicit drug use. His proposals included providing additional resources for RCMP to investigate clandestine drug labs; a hotline for parents concerned about their children’s substance abuse, and a continuation of the prohibition of marijuana use, owing to the fact that, among other problems, it puts youth at risk. He also spoke out against drug injection sites, such as the one established in Vancouver in 2003.
Immediately following his announcement, the media were flooded with articles condemning Mr. Harper for his supposed “Neanderthal” views on drugs, and his “misrepresentation” of the facts on the harmful effects of marijuana.
These attacks were no accident. They were part of a well-organized campaign by advocates of drug legalization who call themselves the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP). This organization is funded by the US billionaire George Soros, the biggest legalization funder in the world. ICSDP recently published a highly misleading report on marijuana which the Canadian media have taken at face value, not looking at who is behind it, and its deceptive and biased research. This report was too good an opportunity for the media to miss as they never lose an opportunity to attack the Conservatives. The media have also ignored the fact that the American Medical Association, the Canadian Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Society of Addiction Medicine, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and most other major medical and health groups world-wide, do not support marijuana legalization. Senior researchers at Harvard, Boston Children’s Hospital, the University of Texas and the University of Pennsylvania have issued a lengthy response to the ICSDP’s misleading report stating that ICSDP’s report, contains abundant factual errors and logical flaws. No reference of this was published in the media.
It is expected that election campaigns will be filled with misrepresentations, but these criticisms of Mr. Harper and the Conservative Party’s opposition to liberalizing drugs in Canada went far beyond misrepresentation and dissembling: they were, instead, a direct falsification of the facts. This was done in order to assist the opposition NDP and Liberal parties which have announced policies that would liberalize drug use in Canada – especially marijuana.
ICSDP claims that its information on drugs – especially on marijuana – is “scientifically” based and refutes information to the contrary. This misinformation provided by ICSDP, is only thinly veiled propaganda based on trumped up evidence, in order to engineer a policy of drug legalization in Canada.
The members of its so-called “Scientific Board” of ICSDP are all active advocates in the drug legalization movement. Its “Scientific Board” includes three lobbyists for the drug injection site in Vancouver. According to information obtained under The Access to Information Act, these same three individuals received $18 million from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) between 2003 and 2011 to carry out research on the site. The political objective of their research was to support the drug injection site by attempting to falsely “prove” its success. Without exception, all their results were highly supportive of the facility. These studies were peer reviewed only by supporters of the drug injection facility. Contrary to standard scientific procedure, these researchers refused to share their data so that the studies could be replicated.
The claims by ICSDP are similarly based on manipulated evidence, which is not just overblown, but is deliberately misleading and false. For example, ICSDP claims that marijuana use carries low risk of dependence. Yet, the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine reports that when marijuana use “begins in the teenage years, the overall risk of dependence is 17%, and for those who progress to daily use, the risk of dependence is as high as 50%”. Another example is ICSDP’s claim that a 2014 study found that smoking marijuana is irrelevant to cancer and lung health. This, however, is contradicted by the conclusions of the actual study!
There is no doubt that the purpose of distributing this so called “scientific” evidence by ICSDP, supported by the obliging media during the election, is to bring about changes in Canada’s drug laws so as to legalize drugs.
This distribution of completely false information by ICSDP and the media, without disclosing its bias, and pretending its findings are scientifically based, has crossed the line of acceptable practices during an election campaign. It is a blatant attempt to manipulate the election outcome by promoting false information.