Pubdate: Thursday, June 24, 1999 Source: Halifax Herald (Canada) Copyright: 1999 The Halifax Herald Limited Contact: http://www.herald.ns.ca/ REFORM TARGETS DRUG USE IN PRISONS OTTAWA (Southam) - The Reform party called yesterday for a true "zero-tolerance" policy on drugs in federal prison as a means of combating high levels of addiction and disease. The federal government should strive to make prisons drug-free zones, not tacitly condone substance abuse by handing out bleach to cleanse injection needles, said Reform MP Randy White. He blasted a new federal strategy paper, made public Tuesday, that suggests building on the current approach by looking at prison needle-exchange programs and studying the literature on new options for drug treatment, such as prescription heroin. "This whole report is basically saying maybe we should have safe-injection houses called prisons," said White, "and that's a serious, serious flaw in philosophy." But the national prison service said there's no way to keep Canada's jails completely drug-free, creating a need for a more comprehensive approach to the growing health problems. "Ideally, we would not like to have any drugs in prison," said Diane Zilkowsky, project manager of the Correctional Service of Canada's drug strategy review. However, some contraband will inevitably be smuggled into federal institutions, despite recent progress toward stemming the flow of drugs, she said. The federal strategy paper on drugs in prison says the service must do "everything in its power" to stop the rampant spread of HIV and hepatitis by inmates who share needles. Up to 40 per cent of federal prisoners have hepatitis C. Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay has admitted the drug problem in prisons is serious. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart