CRIME BILL 'EXACTLY OPPOSITE' DIRECTION TO NEED -- CRITICS

OTTAWA -- Under the Harper government's proposed new drug laws, an
18-year-old who shares a joint with a 17-year-old friend could end up
in jail.

Small-time addicts, who are convicted of pushing drugs near schools,
parks, malls or any other considered youth hangouts, would
automatically be imprisoned for two years.

And growers caught selling even one plant to a friend would also be
incarcerated.

The Conservatives' bill to impose Canada's first mandatory minimum
prison sentences for drug crimes -- removing discretion for judges to
sentence as they see fit -- has come under intense scrutiny in public
hearings that began last week.

Several witnesses have warned the House of Commons justice committee
the proposed legislation will fill jails with drug addicts rather than
drug kingpins, who will continue to thrive while small-time dealers
are knocked out of commission.

The all-party committee will likely get an earful again today when it
hears from another half-dozen opponents, including Ottawa drug-policy
analyst Eugene Oscapella.

The plan to jail dealers and growers automatically comes at a time
when several American states, most recently New York, have retreated
from mandatory minimum sentences, saying they are a glaring symbol of
the failed U.S. war on drugs.

"We're going in exactly the opposite direction," said East Vancouver
New Democrat MP Libby Davies, whose party will vote against the bill.

The Bloc Quebecois also opposes the legislation, which was introduced
in late 2007 but died last September when the federal election was
called.

The bill would pass in the minority Parliament if the Opposition
Liberals support it. Liberals are said to favour pushing for
amendments to the bill, rather than voting against it.