TORIES' DRUG CRIME BILL TABLED

Critic Says It Won't Work

OTTAWA -- The federal Conservatives hope legislation introduced
Tuesday will eventually crack down on drug dealers and change the
lives of addicts who want to go clean.

But at least one critic predicts the bill -- if it passes -- will
only increase violent crime between rival drug gangs and overload
Canada's prison population.

The proposed changes to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
would, for the first time, impose mandatory minimum prison sentences
on anyone convicted of trafficking illegal drugs.

"Drug producers and dealers who threaten the safety of our
communities must face tougher penalties, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said.

"This is why our government is moving to impose mandatory jail time
for serious drug offences that involve organized crime, violence or youth.

Among the proposed amendments, the Tories want to impose two-year
mandatory prison sentences on people convicted of trafficking hard
drugs such as cocaine and heroin, or those who run large marijuana
grow operations of at least 500 plants.

If passed, the legislation would also see mandatory jail sentences of
one year for selling marijuana as part of an organized criminal gang
or when a weapon or violence is involved.

The legislation would also impose tougher penalties for trafficking
GHB and flunitrazepam, commonly known as date-rape drugs.

"We're sending the message that people . . . we are serious about
serious time for that kind of serious crime, said Public Safety
Minister Stockwell Day.

"Our communities should not become battle grounds for drug-related violence.

However, that's just what Canadians will get with mandatory prison
sentences, predicts Craig Jones, director of the John Howard Society.

"What happens when you crack down on crime, particularly drug crime,
is that you provoke turf wars between rival gangs of traffickers,
Jones said from Kingston, Ont.

"When traffickers enter into stronger competition with each other,
they don't go to the courts, they don't call out the lawyers, they
get out their guns and shoot each other up.

Jones blames drug prohibition for Canada's drug-violence problem,
suggesting that legalization and regulation of street drugs would
reduce crime in the same way that the lifting of prohibition against
alcohol did decades ago.

The crackdown proposed by the Tories will also lead to the need for
more prisons and exorbitant spending of tax dollars on incarceration,
Jones predicted.

"This is a prison growth strategy, he said.

There is one way some convicts can avoid mandatory sentences under
the proposed legislation. It allows for exceptions if offenders
successfully complete a court-imposed drug treatment program.

However, only those convicted of non-violent offences and not
involved in organized crime would qualify.

The Drug Treatment Court program offers a mix of social service
support, judicial supervision and incentives for cutting down on drug
use. Offenders who complete the program could have their sentences
reduced or suspended.

Many drug addicts turn to crime to feed their habits, said Ottawa
Police Chief Vernon White.

If they face mandatory jail time, some of those addicts may choose
treatment programs to avoid going to prison, which will reduce the
crime rate, White predicted.

"A lot of the addicts we deal with are involved in criminal
behaviour. On average, a number of them will be committing four to
eight crimes per day.

"So just to drive one of those people into drug treatment will
immediately become a crime prevention tool that most of us don't understand.

The drug treatment program isn't easy, said one graduate who would
only give his first name.

After 26 years of abusing alcohol and drugs, Joe found himself in
prison, and voluntarily approached Ottawa's drug treatment program
determined to change the course of his life.

"I'll make no bones about it, it's not an easy program, said Joe.
"All I had to do was what I was told (and) I've been clean for 16 months.

"I never, ever in my life of abusing even imagined that I could
remain clean for any amount of time.