A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they were pleased with a survey at a local highschool that revealed a third of students had tried marijuana.

“We were actually quite pleased with it. We all understand everybody experiments with alcohol and marijuana. We’re quite pleased other harmful drugs aren’t being utilized.” said Const. Sarah Mattes of the RCMP.

The results of the highschool survey also reflect general pattern accross the country according to the article.

One then must wonder, when the RCMP is pleased that a third of highschool students have used marijuana how exactly the laws forbidding its use are of any practicality. The answer lies in a reasonably successful convergence of harm reduction and prohibitionist strategies.

The employment of harm reduction strategies has a solid support base in Canada with various programs to educate choldren about drugs and their affects already in full swing.

Perhaps the success of this dual strategy lies in the fact that while a large segment of highschool students have tried marijuana, the percentages trying harder drugs is quite low.

Education is a major component of the strategy.

Imagine that!