Pubdate: Wed, 21 Nov 2007 Source: Chronicle Herald (CN NS) Copyright: 2007 The Halifax Herald Limited Contact: http://thechronicleherald.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180 Author: Terry Pedwell, Canadian Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Marijuana - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Stockwell+Day TORIES' DRUG CRIME BILL TABLED Critic Says It Won't Work OTTAWA -- The federal Conservatives hope legislation introduced Tuesday will eventually crack down on drug dealers and change the lives of addicts who want to go clean. But at least one critic predicts the bill -- if it passes -- will only increase violent crime between rival drug gangs and overload Canada's prison population. The proposed changes to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act would, for the first time, impose mandatory minimum prison sentences on anyone convicted of trafficking illegal drugs. "Drug producers and dealers who threaten the safety of our communities must face tougher penalties, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said. "This is why our government is moving to impose mandatory jail time for serious drug offences that involve organized crime, violence or youth. Among the proposed amendments, the Tories want to impose two-year mandatory prison sentences on people convicted of trafficking hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin, or those who run large marijuana grow operations of at least 500 plants. If passed, the legislation would also see mandatory jail sentences of one year for selling marijuana as part of an organized criminal gang or when a weapon or violence is involved. The legislation would also impose tougher penalties for trafficking GHB and flunitrazepam, commonly known as date-rape drugs. "We're sending the message that people . . . we are serious about serious time for that kind of serious crime, said Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day. "Our communities should not become battle grounds for drug-related violence. However, that's just what Canadians will get with mandatory prison sentences, predicts Craig Jones, director of the John Howard Society. "What happens when you crack down on crime, particularly drug crime, is that you provoke turf wars between rival gangs of traffickers, Jones said from Kingston, Ont. "When traffickers enter into stronger competition with each other, they don't go to the courts, they don't call out the lawyers, they get out their guns and shoot each other up. Jones blames drug prohibition for Canada's drug-violence problem, suggesting that legalization and regulation of street drugs would reduce crime in the same way that the lifting of prohibition against alcohol did decades ago. The crackdown proposed by the Tories will also lead to the need for more prisons and exorbitant spending of tax dollars on incarceration, Jones predicted. "This is a prison growth strategy, he said. There is one way some convicts can avoid mandatory sentences under the proposed legislation. It allows for exceptions if offenders successfully complete a court-imposed drug treatment program. However, only those convicted of non-violent offences and not involved in organized crime would qualify. The Drug Treatment Court program offers a mix of social service support, judicial supervision and incentives for cutting down on drug use. Offenders who complete the program could have their sentences reduced or suspended. Many drug addicts turn to crime to feed their habits, said Ottawa Police Chief Vernon White. If they face mandatory jail time, some of those addicts may choose treatment programs to avoid going to prison, which will reduce the crime rate, White predicted. "A lot of the addicts we deal with are involved in criminal behaviour. On average, a number of them will be committing four to eight crimes per day. "So just to drive one of those people into drug treatment will immediately become a crime prevention tool that most of us don't understand. The drug treatment program isn't easy, said one graduate who would only give his first name. After 26 years of abusing alcohol and drugs, Joe found himself in prison, and voluntarily approached Ottawa's drug treatment program determined to change the course of his life. "I'll make no bones about it, it's not an easy program, said Joe. "All I had to do was what I was told (and) I've been clean for 16 months. "I never, ever in my life of abusing even imagined that I could remain clean for any amount of time. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake