ILLICIT DRUG 'PARTY'S OVER'

Health Minister to Showcase Conservatives' New Anti-Drug Crackdown
Plan This Week

OTTAWA -- 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 said.

"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% in 2006 of arrests for possession of cannabis,
compared with the previous year.

As a result, thousands of people were charged with a criminal offence
that, under the previous Liberal government, was on the verge of being
classified as a misdemeanour. Police forces said many young people
were under the impression the decriminalization bill had already
passed and were smoking up more boldly than they've ever done before.

Clement says his government wants to clear up the uncertainty

"There's been a lot of mixed messages going out about illicit drugs,"
Clement said yesterday after a symposium designed to bring together
Canada's arts and health communities to combat mental health issues.

There's also a health-care cost element to suggesting to young people
that using illicit drugs is OK, the minister said.

"The fact of the matter is they're unhealthy," Clement
said.

"They create poor health outcomes."

For too long, Clement argues, governments in Canada have been sending
the wrong message about drug use. It's time, he says, to take a
tougher approach to dealing with the problem.

"There hasn't been a meaningful retooling of our strategy to tackle
illicit drugs in over 20 years in this country," Clement said.

"We're going to be into a different world and take tackling these
issues very seriously because (of) the impact on the health and safety
of our kids."

The Conservatives' wide-ranging $64-million anti-drug strategy is
expected to combine treatment and prevention programs with stiffer
penalties for illicit drug use, and a crackdown at the border against
drug smuggling.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and Public Safety Minister Stockwell
Day will join Clement in announcing the plan as part of a range of
initiatives to be unveiled by the Tories surrounding next month's
throne speech.

Clement said treatment and prevention programs were his key priorities
for the health element of the drug strategy.