Peaceful Measures: Canada's Way Out of the War on Drugs

Janet McCreadie is Editor of the Pelham Herald.

For Alexander, the war on drugs is more a symbolic crusade than a
pragmatic attempt to control drug use or drug-related problems.

Decrying the current war on drugs is not just this author’s private
whim. He takes accurate aim at its failures and even offers one or two
good theories on ending it. His book focuses on using illicit drugs and
on the seldom-documented violence of drug warriors. It shows what it was
intended to show: a different perspective on the topic.

The book addresses five major issues. First, does a war on drugs really
exist? Second, has the war on drugs successfully completed its
objectives? Third, how valid are the familiar justifications for the war
on drugs? Fourth, what are the possible alternatives to the present
“war-like” policies? And finally, if the war on drugs has failed and
if more promising alternatives are at hand, why has the war not ended
and these alternative policies been adopted?

Alexander takes the reader step by step through each issue, presenting
a fair review and commentary without sociological, psychological, or
pharmacological jargon. Peaceful Measures is worth more than a second
glance.