My first Magazine Final Draft Multimodal Project 4 | Page 13

He asserts that Canada has 1/8 the incarceration rate of the United States, primarily because it
has allowed judges to retain their autonomy in sentencing those charged wth drug-related crimes
(244). However, much like the Latin American nations, Canada has recently reformed its sen-
tencing methods to more closely mirror the nation it does 90% of its trade with (245). Odem is
starkly opposed to Canada’s 2011 waffle on mandatory minimum sentences, citing the ineffec-
tiveness of punitive measures in reforming drug addicts and urging Canada to recognize that ret-
ribution is much more effective than prolonged incarceration. Given the obvious flaws of mini-
mum mandatory sentences, it is illogical that other nations would not be deterred from emulating
their example.
Uprimmy, Rodrigo. “Addicted to Punishment: Penalties in the War on Drugs More Severe than for Murder and Rape.”
Open Society Foundations, 9 Apr. 2013, www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/addicted-punishment-penalties-war-
drugs-more-severe-murder-and-rape.
Conceived to deter serious drug crime, mandatory minimum sentences have fallen short in
achieving that aim. The federal mandatory minimum sentencing system has been referred to as the
“bastard child of Washington’s ill-conceived war on drugs” (Sevigny 314). This legislation was
enacted to target kingpins; doling out harsh sentences for those trafficking copious quantities of