TOUGH DRUG CRIME BILL REVIVED

The Conservatives reintroduced a bill yesterday to impose automatic
jail terms for drug-related crimes, which would send people to jail
for growing just one marijuana plant for the purpose of
trafficking.

The proposed legislation, which Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said is
designed to target organized crime, mirrors a 2007 bill that died when
the Oct. 14 general election was called.

"Mandatory prison sentences are appropriate for those who commit
serious drug offences threatening our society," Nicholson said in
Vancouver, where a recent spate of shootings has been blamed on gangs
and the drug trade.

The proposed legislation would impose six months for growing one to
200 marijuana plants to sell, and two years for big-time growers.

There also would be a one-year mandatory jail sentence for marijuana
dealing when it's linked to organized crime or a weapon is involved.

The sentence would be increased to two years for dealing drugs such as
cocaine, heroin or methamphetamines to young people, or for pushing
drugs near a school or other youth-oriented places.

The bill also revives a failed initiative from the previous Liberal
government to increase maximum imprisonment for growers to 14 years,
from the current seven, for running grow operations.

Opponents have warned that minimum terms will flood Canadian prisons
and jails.