Pubdate: Wed, 22 Nov 2006
Source: Listowel Banner (CN ON)
Copyright: 2006 Listowel Banner
Contact:  http://www.northperth.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4359

DRUG PRODUCER REGISTRY AN IDEA WORTH PURSUING

Anyone not living in a total media vacuum should be well aware of the 
devastation the rampant production and use of Crystal Meth is causing 
among our youth. Cheaply produced and highly-addictive, meth is 
quickly becoming the number one drug problem in our country, our 
province and, particularly our region.

Among the key frustrations faced by citizens and parents in dealing 
with this scourge is a feeling of helplessness and futility. What can 
the average person do to help combat such a widespread and insidious problem?

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) National Chemical Diversion 
Coordinator, Corporal Brent Hill, recently provided a piece of that 
puzzle. Speaking to the Perth County Task Force on Crystal Meth, 
Corp. Hill said he would like to see a national registry created of 
those found guilty of manufacturing illegal drugs, similar to that 
used to keep tabs on sex offenders.

Such a registry would provide rapid access by police to current vital 
information about convicted drug producers.

A person convicted of a designated drug offence could be required to 
report to the appropriate registration centre to re-register annually 
and every time they change their address or legal name. It is a 
database that provides Canadian police services with important 
information that improves their ability to investigate crimes of a 
sexual nature. It could do the same for police in investigating major 
drug offences.

Mr. Hill suggested the registry could allow the public to be made 
aware, through the media, when a convicted producer moved to an area, 
allowing the entire community to be on guard for suspicious activity.

Certainly there are issues which will require clarification. How does 
a rehabilitated person convicted of drug production get their name 
off the list? Would the registry differentiate between chemical drug 
producers and small-scale marijuana growers, and should it? 
Regardless, this is an idea that shouldn't be allowed to get mired in 
the legislative system for years. It should be examined fully, post haste.

Citizens can help by letting their leaders know this is an idea they 
would like to see pursued, even fast-tracked. Write your members of 
parliament, both provincial and federal. Write to Prime Minister 
Stephen Harper, the Solicitor General, Premier Dalton McGuinty, your 
local municipal council. While creation of the registry would be a 
federal decision, support for the idea voiced by other levels of 
government could help speed the idea along.

The damage being wrought on our society by chemical drugs is 
certainly comparable and perpetrated with the same vile disregard for 
the rights of others as that done by sex offenders. These people are 
in the same league when it comes to malevolence. We should put them 
in the same boat when it comes to dealing with our justice system.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine