FEDERAL ACTION URGED ON CRYSTAL METH

The B.C. government's latest effort to combat crystal meth use is a good
step, but the federal government needs to do its part, says MP Vic Teows,
the Conservative justice critic

At the recent Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, Premier Gordon
Campbell announced a $7 million fund for community educational efforts to
combat the production and use of the drug

"With B.C. suffering from one of the highest rates of crystal meth
trafficking and abuse in the country, this announcement is a definite step
in the right direction," Teows said. "The Conservative Party will continue
to call on the federal Liberal government to implement a cohesive strategy,
which could help co-ordinate provincial and federal resources for treatment
programs, and also to address the wide-ranging implications of crystal meth
on health, society, and crime.

The federal Conservatives endorse B.C. Solicitor General John Les' call for
mandatory prison terms for trafficking in crystal meth, rather than
conditional sentences and house arrest that are now available under the
Criminal Code.