CANADIAN DRUG OFFENCES HIT 30-YEAR HIGH

Use By Youth Increases

(CNS) - Canada's illicit-drug problem hit a 30-year high in 2007,
with marijuana leading the way but losing ground to cocaine, Ecstasy,
crystal meth and date-rape drugs.

Statistics Canada reported yesterday the increase in drug crimes
reported to police, which reached more than 100,000, coincided with
the overall crime rate hitting a 30-year low.

The agency speculated that a police crackdown on drugs could be
responsible for the opposite trends, along with a decade-old change
in federal law that cast more drugs as illicit and made drug
production a crime.

"Police may focus law enforcement efforts more on addressing
drug-related crimes when time, resources and priorities permit," said
the report. "It is also possible that legislative changes may affect
the drug offence rate by criminalizing certain behaviours that were
not previously considered to be a crime."

Statistics Canada, citing a recent national study, also said that the
increase could be attributed to more people using illicit drugs in
recent years.

In 2007, the national drug-crime rate reached 305 cases per 100,000
population, building on 15 years of steady growth. British Columbia
retained its 30-year ranking as the country's drug capital. In 2007,
the rate in B. C. was more than double that in Saskatchewan, the next
highest province.

Vancouver was Canada's most concentrated drug centre, followed by
Victoria, Abbotsford, B. C., and then Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau,
both in Quebec.

Adults were more likely than young people to be caught with drugs.
But youths, comprising 19% of cases, were catching up in 2007.

The number of teens under 18 caught with illegal drugs more than
doubled in a decade, while the rate of adults who were charged
increased 32%. "This increase corresponds with an increase in drug
use among youth," said the report.

Statistics Canada also said that almost half of all drug charges in
2007 were stayed, withdrawn, or dismissed.

"Drug-related cases are less likely to result in conviction than
cases in general," said the study.

Cannabis accounted for two-thirds of all reported drug crimes and 75%
were for possession, 13% for trafficking and 11% for production.

Cocaine was the second illicit drug of choice, comprising 25% of
charges. About half were for possession and half for trafficking. The
category of "other" drug offences, however, was the fastest growing
because it encompasses an explosion in synthetic drugs, mainly in
Western Canada.

Statistics Canada noted that a little more than half of adults who
were convicted of drug trafficking were incarcerated for an average
of 278 days. For possession, 16% were jailed for an average of nine days.

CRIME RATES

Total police-reported drug offences, by census metropolitan area in 2007:

500,000 OR MORE POPULATION

Vancouver 14,407

Toronto 12,132

Montreal 7,563

Edmonton 2,437

Quebec 2,090

Ottawa 1,915

Calgary 1,891

Hamilton 1,325

Winnipeg 1,151

100,000 TO LESS THAN 500,000 POPULATION

Victoria 1,596

London 1,211

Kitchener 1,210

Gatineau, Que. 1,120

Halifax 1,029

Windsor 968

Saskatoon 873

St. Catharines-Niagara 650

Thunder Bay 355

Saint John, N. B. 339

Kingston 319

Regina 345

St. John's, N. L. 257