ACT ON DRUG REPORT, URGES PDA'S WILSON

The number of deaths from drug overdoses is heading to an all-time high in
B.C., says the leader of the Progressive Democratic Alliance. Gordon Wilson
told the legislature yesterday drug overdoses have taken the lives of 201
people this year - more than one a day. He urged the government to do
something about the report of former chief coroner Vince Cain, who called
for a program that would decriminalize heroin for known addicts.He also
urged that drug addiction be treated as a medical and rehabilitation
problem, not a law enforcement one. Attorney-General Ujjal Dosanjh said he
agreed some drugs could be available "under controlled circumstances" but
only on a national scale and, he said, Ottawa has not picked up the ball.

B.C. recorded 331 deaths from drug overdoses in 1993.

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"