MINIMUM DRUG TERMS OPPOSED

Imposing minimum jail terms on drug offenders would lead to more
disease in prison and cost taxpayers, says Paul Hasselback, the
medical health officer with Interior Health.

The Kelowna doctor and 550 other physicians, scientists and academics
across Canada are calling on the federal government to scrap its new
crime bill in Parliament. They say it targets the wrong people and
would do little to stop addicts from using drugs.

"It's been tried in other countries, and we know it doesn't work. It
doesn't reduce the use of drugs, which is what we're trying to
achieve," said Hasselback, who speaks for public health physicians in
B.C. as chair of the Health Officers Council.

The legislation, Bill S-10, would set minimum penalties for drug
offences committed by a criminal organization, or involving violence
or a weapon. It would fix a minimum sentence of six months in jail
for growing more than five marijuana plants and for drug-related
crimes committed by a previous drug offender.

Critics say Ottawa would have to build more prisons and fund extra
staff to manage the larger inmate population. Kelowna MP Ron Cannan
says that's the cost of keeping our streets safer.

"How much does it cost if your child or grandchild becomes addicted
and used as a (drug) runner and there are no consequences?" he said
Tuesday. "There have got to be more changes to the justice system.
Right now, it's not working."

In an open letter to federal party leaders, the Vancouver-based Urban
Health Research Initiative calls for an evidence-based approach to
sentencing drug criminals. There's no scientific proof that mandatory
minimum sentences cut crime or promote public safety, said Thomas
Kerr, a co-director.

Too much public money is going toward law enforcement while little is
spent on preventing drug addiction, treatment and reducing harm for
addicted people, said Hasselback, who stressed he wasn't speaking for
Interior Health. Jailing minor drug offenders would provide little
deterrence and fail to change the drug economy.

"The thinking is if we put them in the jail, there isn't the demand
and the drug problem will go away," he said. "Bill S-10 takes us down
a path that directly costs Canadian taxpayers money and won't achieve
what it's proposed to do."

Cannan argues the legislation targets drug dealers and
organized-crime groups but also supports programs for those who seek
rehabilitation in jail. It helps protect youths by jailing adults who
sell them drugs or traffic near their schools.

Cultivating five marijuana plants can produce more than 5,000 joints,
Cannan said - far more than a person can consume.

"This bill doesn't target recreational use - not the average Joe who
has a couple of plants in his basement," he said.

The legislation would put behind bars more youths and aboriginal
people - groups already disproportionately represented in jail,
Hasselback said. More inmates would contract hepatitis C and HIV by
sharing needles, tattooing and sexual contact.

One in 20 B.C. inmates is HIV-positive and one in three has hepatitis
C, said Hasselback. Many of them are infected in prison.

Judges would have the discretion to suspend or reduce a sentence if
the offender agrees to take an approved rehabilitation program,
Cannan said. The bill strikes a balance between serious consequences
for organized criminals and treatment for those seeking help.

"The bar is lowered so far in B.C.," he said. "I've heard loud and
clear from citizens and police. They're tired of these guys getting
slapped on the hand and nothing happens to them. . . . They call it
the revolving door."

Countries such as Spain and Switzerland have abandoned minimum
sentences because they don't work, said Hasselback. He wants more
resources going to treatment, prevention and harm reduction.

The bill is expected to go before the House for second reading this
week. Lawmakers will then refer it to a committee.