Pubdate: Fri, 12 Mar 2004 Source: Morning Star, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2004 The Morning Star Contact: http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1352 Section: Opinion Author: Darrel Stinson Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) TARGETING THE DRUG TRADE This week the House of Commons debated the illegal-drug trade, on Third Reading of Bill C-10. MPs from all Parties agreed that current methods are failing to protect Canadians but disagreed about solutions. For example Conservative health critic Rob Merrifield spoke about Health Canada cracking down on natural-health products while this Liberal government sends a 'soft message' regarding illegal drugs, which principals in his area's schools say is misleading students. Really marijuana is more potent today than ever. Additionally, former Solicitor General Wayne Easter described illegal drugs' impact in B.C.'s Lower Mainland including lives and families destroyed, rental housing seriously damaged, neighborhood property values reduced. He described the frustration of police putting their lives on the line to bust marijuana grow operations, spending hours on paperwork and all too often 'before they go back to work the next day, the person is back out on the streets.' He described Bill C-10 as built on prevention, enforcement, treatment and harm reduction. But as Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz pointed out, good intentions don't ensure good legislation. He noted that C-10 imposes no heavier sentence for repeat offences, so fines are treated merely as revolving-door business expenses. My office spoke this week with chief David Douglas of the B.C. Organized Crime Agency. He pointed out that, for a hundred-plant marijuana grow operation, State of Washington imposes a minimum five-year sentence. In B.C., the usual penalty is a conditional sentence, perhaps a fine. He explained that organized crime sends huge shipments of 'B.C. bud' south and gets return shipments of cocaine and firearms, including fire-power which outguns our police. Even the proceeds of crime can now be used to pay lawyers, with nobody ensuring lawyers' fees don't get partly refunded back to organized crime. This has become a multi-billion dollar industry, the kind of money which can convince accountants and lawyers and probably some police and politicians to look the other way. That makes it likely some decisions by government are being made not for the good of law-abiding citizens but for the profits of crime-lords. For example when RCMP and CSIS reported on Asian organized crime gaining power in Canada, they were ordered to destroy their report. So I think, just as we are learning about the sponsorship scandal, some people in the old boys' network running Canada do not want to stop the illegal drug trade. What do you think? - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin