'IF YOU SELL DRUGS, WE'LL PUNISH YOU'

Prime Minister's Anti-Drug Strategy Tough on Dealers, Helpful to Addicts

WINNIPEG - Prime Minister Stephen Harper extended a compassionate hand
to drug addicts yesterday, but warned drug dealers that the long arm
of the law is coming at them hard.

Mr. Harper launched his government's national anti-drug strategy from
Winnipeg yesterday, pledging $63.8 million over two years to modernize
and expand prevention and treatment programs, and educate young people
on the dangers of drugs, while at the same time cracking down on drug
dealers with mandatory minimum sentences for major drug crimes.

"If you are addicted to drugs, we'll help you, and if you sell drugs,
we'll punish you," said Mr. Harper, with Health Minister Tony Clement
and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day at his side.

Addictions cost the health care system $1.2 billion every year, said
Mr. Harper.

Under the strategy, two-thirds of the funding would be earmarked for
modernizing and expanding treatment programs, launching a national
anti-drug education campaign targeting teens and their parents, and
developing and funding community prevention programs.

The enforcement side would get $21.6 million to hire more police and
prosecutors for dedicated anti-drug teams, and increase funding for
the border services to keep drugs and drug paraphernalia out of Canada.

There would also be a focus on the precursors of drugs, such as the
ingredients used to make crystal methamphetamine, including a stricter
requirement to have those products registered and identified.

Legislation will be introduced later this fall to bring in mandatory
minimum sentences for people convicted of serious drug offences, but
Mr. Harper would not say how long the sentences would be or what
specific offences would be targeted.

Mr. Harper said that harm-reduction measures such as safe injection
sites are not a pillar of the strategy, even though, earlier this
week, his government allowed a safe injection site in Vancouver to
continue to operate for another six months, to June 2008.

But Mr. Harper said he remains skeptical about the validity of safe
injection sites and said while many experts believe in them, many
others don't.

"I remain a skeptic that you can tell people we won't stop the drug
trade, we won't get you off drugs, we won't even send messages to
discourage drug use, but somehow we will keep you addicted and reduce
the harm just the same," said Mr. Harper. "Even if that's effective,
that has got to be a second-best strategy at best.

"Because if you remain a drug addict, I don't care how much harm you
reduce -- you're going to have a short and miserable life."