MANDATORY DRUG SENTENCE DRAWS FIRE

Small-Timers Could Serve Big Time

(CNS) - Under Canada'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 prospective youth hangouts, would be
automatically imprisoned for two years.

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

The Harper government's 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, which 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.

"It's a wonderful gift to organized crime," said Oscapella, a lawyer
who teaches at University of Ottawa.

The Conservative government proposes to automatically jail dealers
and growers 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 New Democrat
Libby Davies, MP for Vancouver East, whose party will vote against the bill.

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

The bill would pass in the minority Parliament if the official
Opposition Liberals decide to support it -- and MP Brian Murphy
cautioned that "the jury is still out" for his party.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, who appeared at the justice committee
to defend his bill, was unable to supply any evidence from other
countries that mandatory minimum sentences have made any difference
in reducing drug crime.

Two studies prepared for the Justice Department, one in 2002 and the
other in 2005, say that mandatory minimums do not work.

But Nicholson asserted that the proposed legislation is a smart
response to a public outcry to crack down on the growing "scourge"of drugs.

Davies has unsuccessfully challenged the government to supply
estimates on how many more people would be incarcerated if the law
passes, and the anticipated cost for provincial governments, who are
responsible for jails housing offenders serving sentences of less
than two years.

"It's going to clog up the prison system," she warned.

Critics also contend the bill is poorly drafted because it is overly
broad and unclear. For instance, the proposal to automatically
imprison for at least two years anyone caught selling drugs "near a
school"or "any other public place usually frequented by persons under
the age of 18" could mean virtually anywhere in an urban area, says
the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.