BETTER LAWS NEEDED TO TARGET DATE RAPE

For over the past month police and social service agencies in Red Deer
have intensified their battle against the longstanding harm of date
rape drugs.

Red Deer city RCMP announced earlier this month of the arrest of
28-year-old Marty Dickson of Red Deer, who allegedly was caught with
quantities of the well-known date rape drugs of GHB and Ketamine.

In February, the Central Alberta AIDS Network Society (CAANS) took
part in the Edmonton-based initiative Night Gone Right, a project
aimed at bolstering awareness about the dangers of date rape drugs.
Staff members from Night Gone Right were joined by local women and
they visited several bars in the City over three weekends to talk with
patrons about staying safe on the party circuit.

When the campaign was over officials estimated they had talked to
about 2,500 nightclub patrons on the dangers of date rape drugs.

While these initiatives are always welcome it also underscores the
uphill battle police and social service agencies face.

The biggest problem is that police are fighting the war without laws
that are specifically targeted at date rape drug trafficking.

In the case of Mr. Dickson, RCMP laid generic charges of trafficking,
possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a
controlled substance. GHB and Ketamine were lumped together with
cocaine and crystal meth, the latter two drugs which police also
allege was found in Mr. Dickson's possession.

What this clearly shows is that law makers in Ottawa are lagging
seriously behind creative initiatives introduced up to 15 years ago in
the United States to fight the growing menace of date rape.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Drug-Induced Rape
Prevention and Punishment Act, which was specifically aimed at the
date rape drug Rohypnol. It is legislation aimed at persons who intend
to commit a crime of violence (including sexual assault) by
distributing the date rape drug to another individual without that
individual's knowledge. The key word in the legislation is intend. If
police find the date rape drug on a suspect it is deemed intent,
enough for a charge. If prosecuted successfully, the federal law can
result in a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

And in the state of Indiana, there is a statute that calls for
imprisonment of up to 20 years for any individual who gives a date
rape drug to anyone without the victim's knowledge.

Of course, these initiatives have not wiped out the problem but they
have provided U.S. law enforcement officials with better tools to at
least prove to the public the growing problem of date rape drugs is
being taken seriously.

The Canadian government, which is mandated to create federal drug
laws, owes its citizens the same courtesy and protection.