MP CALLS FOR END TO DRUG WAR

As the ongoing war on drugs is doing nothing to effectively address the
problem of drug abuse it's time to try something else.

That's the opinion of Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca MP Keith Martin on the issue
of drug abuse. And that's why the local Canadian Alliance MP tried to bring
in a private member's bill last week in the House of Commons aimed at
addressing drug abuse and the illicit drug trade which are showing no
signs of going away.

"We're losing the battle and we need to rethink how we deal with substance
abuse," says Martin.

The first part of Martin's motion dealt with reducing domestic consumption
of drugs through rehabilitation programs based on new European models. Such
programs have proven to have good track records.

"We need to put a greater emphasis on consumption rather than production
because if there's no consumption and no demand there wouldn't be any
production," Martin explains.

Many Latin American politicians are supportive of such an approach, he
says. And even some politicians in the US - the country known for
perpetuating the so-called war on drugs - are beginning to admit it's time
to take a more rehabilitative approach to drug abuse. Martin says, while
he was visiting Colombia a couple of months ago, US Senator John McCain
publicly stated it's time for his country to revamp it's stance on drug
consumption.

Simply waging war on Colombian drug cartels hasn't in itself had any
noticeable impact on reducing the amount of cocaine and heroin people use
in North America, says Martin. When some of the major cocaine cartels in
Colombia were put out of business in the early 1990s, other organizations
such as the Marxist guerrillas and paramilitary groups simply took over.

Some of the European models aimed a reducing drug consumption are concerned
with areas including detox programs, counselling and providing job skills
to help addicts leave the drug scene.

"You have to get the person in a structured environment away from their
drug environment," adds Martin.

Another section of Martin's motion was concerned with introducing the
national Headstart program which involves early intervention techniques as
a way of steering children in the right direction. One of the features of
the Headstart program involves strengthening the parent-child bond which he
argues is a great way of reducing the chances of children getting messed up
on drugs.

While tackling the problem of drug consumption is a start, Martin would
also like Canada to step up it's fight against organized crime. Part of
Martin's motion called for the introduction of amendments to the criminal
code that would be based on the American Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organization Act (RICO). That, says Martin, would allow law enforcement
agencies to go after the profits earned by major players in the illegal
drug trade.

Lastly, Martin's private members bill called for a hemispheric free trade
agreement that reduces tariffs, non-tariff barriers and the elimination of
double taxation regimes. Such a move, he argues, would make it possible for
farmers in places like Colombia to stop growing cocoa leaves, and more
recently, opium, and produce legitimate crops instead.

As is the case with almost every private members bill, Martin's motion was
denied.

Still, there was a good reason to try and bring the bill in while
realistically expecting it would get defeated. In this case, it's to give
the concept some publicity on the eve of the Summit of the Americas slated
to run from April 20-22 in Quebec City .

"The whole purpose of the private members motion is to raise awareness
before the Summit because we're the host and have an enormous opportunity
to deal with the illicit drug trade in a new way and develop consensus,"
says Martin.