TIME FOR HARDLINE ON ILLICIT DRUGS: MINISTER

Campaign To Emphasize The Dangers Of All Illicit Drugs In Any
Quantity

VANCOUVER - Federal Health Minister Tony Clement delivered a tough,
anti-drug message to doctors Monday, saying young people need straight
talk about the dangers of illicit drugs, including marijuana.

"The messages young people have received during the past several years
have been confusing and conflicting to say the least," Clement told
the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in Vancouver.

"We are very concerned about the damage and pain that drugs cause
families and we intend to reverse the trend toward vague, ambiguous
messaging that has characterized Canadian attitudes in the recent
past," he said.

The government plans a campaign emphasizing the dangers of all illicit
drugs in any quantity, Clement said.

"We will discourage young people from thinking there are safe amounts
or safe drugs," he said.

Clement skirted questions about the future of Vancouver's supervised
injection site, saying recent research has cast doubts on earlier
studies that found the site has reduced needle sharing and public drug
use while encouraging addicts to seek treatment.

He said Ottawa will weigh all the evidence before making a decision
prior to Dec. 31, when the Health Canada exemption allowing the Insite
facility to operate expires.

On Monday, a Toronto research scientist issued a statement signed by
130 prominent doctors and scientists, suggesting the government is
more concerned about ideology than science regarding Insite.

"The health of a nation is placed in peril if our leaders ignore
crucial research findings simply because they run contrary to a rigid
policy agenda driven by ideology or fixed beliefs," Stephen Hwang, an
associate professor at the University of Toronto's medicine
department, said in the statement to be published today in the medical
journal Open Medicine.

Adrian Dix, the provincial NDP health critic, also blasted the
minister, accusing him of distorting the evidence regarding Insite.
"The evidence is in -- the safe injection site is working," he said.

"The federal minister of health should be showing leadership and
instead he's got some sort of message box from the National Citizens
Coalition."

Asked about the future of Insite, out-going CMA president Colin
McMillan said his association strongly supports a harm-reduction
program that includes prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.

Clement also stressed the need for Canada's health-care system to be
smarter and more sophisticated, not leaner and meaner.

"We have recently seen the serious threats posed to health and safety
by counterfeit and dangerous imported products -- from bacteria in
toothpaste to lead in toys," he said. "This is a great concern to the
Canadian government and we are working on an action plan right now
that will be ready very shortly."

Later he told reporters his officials are reviewing regulations and
standards for imported goods from all countries -- not just China --
suggesting an action plan could be announced during the fall
parliamentary session.

The review is not only looking at goods from China, he
said.

"What we have to do is ensure health and safety regardless of the
origin of the product. I think that's what Canadians expect."