TORY GOVERNMENT WOULD BE A STEP BACK FOR CANADA'S DRUG POLICY, THINK-TANK SAYS

Electing a Conservative government would be a huge step backwards for
Canadian drug policy, according to an international think-tank.

The Senlis Council said Friday that a Conservative victory in Monday's
federal election would blunt the innovative approaches Canada has taken to
combat the effects of illegal drug use.

The organization said the harm reduction measures such as the needle
exchange and safe injection sites in Vancouver were examples of progressive
steps supported by the federal Liberal government.

The Senlis Council argued a Conservative government would not support harm
reduction policies, nor would it decriminalize possession of small amounts
of marijuana.

"The individuals responsible for Conservative Party policy do not appear to
be asking themselves whether or not the methods used to combat drug abuse
and trafficking over the past 40 years of the drug war are working or not.

"The repressive, law-enforcement-based 'War on Drugs' approach has clearly
not been effective, and other solutions should be considered," the Council
said Friday in a press release.

The Senlis Council was established in 2002 by a network of European drug
policy foundations in Senlis, France.