CONSERVATIVES TACKLE GROWING PROBLEM

British Columbians are bound to have mixed feelings about the
Conservative government's crackdown on the drug trade.

There are legalization boosters in our midst who will see Stephen
Harper's laws as draconian, but surely the average Canadian will agree
with many of the new legal standards.

For example, a one-year mandatory sentence for having a weapon while
dealing drugs is something that most people in the Lower Mainland see
as a way of deterring some of the gun crime that has swept across the
region.

Similarly, there will be a minimum one-year sentence for dealing drugs
on behalf of a criminal organization.

The government is attempting to target those who try to sell drugs to
youth. They will receive a minimum sentence of two years in prison for
dealing hard drugs, including heroin and methamphetamine, to young
people, or for selling these drugs in areas used by youth.

For decades we have seen people busted for running grow-ops, and
receiving only minor fines from the courts, obviously paid many times
over by the proceeds of their crime. If their freedom is curtailed, it
is only through house arrest.

Now, those who run large marijuana grow operations of 500-plus plants
will face an automatic two-year jail term. Smaller operations would
result in periods of incarceration of between six months and one year.

The new laws should make them think twice - especially those who are
parents.

While marijuana is seen by many as a victimless crime, this paper has
long maintained that marijuana grow-ops are a scourge in Abbotsford.
They are often operated on behalf of criminal organizations, and when
they are busted there are illegal pistons, sawed-off shotguns and even
submachine guns.

The present situation is intolerable. Prime Minister Stephen Harper
would never consider legalization. It should be no surprise that the
Conservative government has turned to strict legal measures as the way
to take on the drug trade.