Pubdate: Tue, 09 Oct 2007 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2007 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Stephen+Harper DRUG PLAN IS GOOD, BUT HAS ITS FLAWS The Conservative government's new $63.8-million, two-year drug strategy could be worse, but it could be better. Fully half the money will go toward beefing up treatment for addicts. Since health and social services are mainly a provincial responsibility, however, that money will go mainly to development of national benchmarking - so that evaluations can be consistent across the country - and extra programs for aboriginals. The main burden of helping addicts remains with the provinces. Another $10 million will go to prevention - ad campaigns and brochures to remind people, especially young people, how damaging addiction is. "Drugs are dangerous and destructive," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, unveiling the plan. "If drugs do get hold of you, there will be help to get you off them." Then he went on to the $22 million law-enforcement piece of the strategy: "But if you sell or produce drugs, you will pay with prison time." The critics' familiar litany began at once - "useless" and "fascist" and so on. But the details suggest that these measures are well thought out: tighter import control for precursor chemicals, expedited deportation for convicted non-Canadian dealers, additional police officers dedicated to fighting organized drug crime ... We're not happy, however, about mandatory minimum sentences, which reduce judicial discretion in an unfortunate way. This newspaper still believes that decriminalization of "soft drug" possession would be sensible. But next best, we'll concede, is an end to the twilight of legal vagueness and enforcement confusion that we have had. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake