QUEBEC HAS 3-PART PLAN TO FIGHT DRUG ADDICTION

Marijuana And Alcohol Use Have Dropped, But Consumption Of Synthetic
Drugs On Rise

CP - Prevention, rehabilitation and research are key parts of a new
provincial government strategy announced yesterday to fight drug addiction.

Margaret Delisle, minister of youth protection and rehabilitation,
said in announcing the strategy that her department would work
closely with those of Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis and
Health Minister Philippe Couillard, among others.

Delisle said the plan will enable the government to tackle the
problem in a more co-ordinated way.

Synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine will be targeted in the plan.

Between 2002 and 2004, the consumption of alcohol and marijuana
dropped among young adults, said Robert Faulkner, who works on drug
addiction for the Health Department.

"What worries us is an increase in the use of methamphetamines," he said.

Faulkner said about 35,000 people per year are treated for addiction in Quebec.

Among those, 5,678 were youth under 18 years of age.

Dupuis noted that 54 per cent of people entering provincial prisons
had drug problems and 31 per cent of the crimes in the province are
committed by people who want to get drugs or alcohol.

Nearly $75 million were spent fighting drug addiction in 2005 to
2006, compared to $70 million the years before.