METH PUSHERS NOW FACE LIFE IN JAIL

VANCOUVER -- Penalties for possessing, making and trafficking crystal meth
- -- a drug called the poor man's cocaine -- were increased Thursday by the
federal government, but it's a strategy that a frontline social worker says
has proved worthless in the fight against cocaine and heroin

The stiffer sentences on methamphetamine, known as crystal meth, are now in
line with offences associated with heroin and cocaine

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said specially designated prosecutors will
also deal with the most serious cases and will speak to judges in
sentencing about the corrosive, poisonous nature of the drug and how it
destroys lives

"Judges look at the gravity of the offence and the responsibility of the
offender in determining sentences," Cotler told a news conference in Vancouver

"We are making a clear statement today about the gravity of the offence and
the responsibility of the offender." The maximum penalty for production and
distribution has increased to life in prison from 10 years.