HARPER GOVERNMENT TO UNVEIL DRUG STRATEGY

Health Minister Tony Clement will announce the Conservative
government's anti-drug strategy this week with a stark warning: "The
party's over" for illicit drug users.

"In the next few days, we're going to be back in the business of an
anti-drug strategy," Clement told The Canadian Press.

"In that sense, the party's over."

Shortly after taking office early last year, the Conservatives decided
not to go ahead with a Liberal bill to decriminalize small amounts of
marijuana.

Since then, the number of people arrested for smoking pot has jumped
dramatically in several Canadian cities, in some cases jumping by more
than one third.

Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Halifax all reported increases of
between 20 and 50 per cent in 2006 of arrests for possession of
cannabis, compared with the previous year.