SOLDIERS FAIL DRUG TESTS

FREDERICTON - Military officials are saying little about reports that
some Canadian soldiers training for deployment next year to
Afghanistan have failed mandatory drug tests.

Sources told the Fredericton Gleaner that between 16 and 18 per cent
of the soldiers tested recently at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown,
N.B., were found to have traces of illegal substances in their systems.

Marijuana, cocaine, speed and even heroin were among the drugs
discovered, the newspaper reported.

Maj. Jay Janzen, public affairs officer for Land Force Atlantic Area,
confirmed this week that soldiers from Gagetown are being tested
before deployment to Afghanistan in February.

But he cautioned that the process was ongoing and nothing was final.

Janzen would not confirm if any of the tests had come back positive
for illegal substances.

Approximately 700 soldiers from Gagetown, along with a number of
reservists, are scheduled to make the journey to Afghanistan.