CANADIAN ALLIANCE MCGILL TO PETITION AGAINST DATE-RAPE DRUGS

A petition to be circulated by Canadian Alliance McGill will call on the
federal government to classify date-rape drugs as weapons under the
Criminal Code.

This campaign is in support of Canadian Alliance MP James Moore's Private
Member's Motion (M-458), which also calls for new national guidelines in
the collection and documentation of evidence on sexual assault. Under M-458
sexual assault with the assistance of a date-rape drug would carry a more
severe punishment than it currently does.

David Anber, president of Canadian Alliance McGill, said that the amendment
to the criminal code would address the need for stricter sentences in
date-rape crimes.

"[Right now], there is no minimum sentence for sexual assault. Some
judges... give a minimum [sentence] of 18 months," he said.

McGill law professor Ronald Sklar explained that ordinary sexual assault
without a weapon has a maximum term of 10 years. If date-rape drugs were
classified as weapons, the sentence for date-rape crimes would change.

"Sexual assault with a weapon has a maximum term of 14 years and a minimum
punishment of four years," said Sklar.

"I've never heard of a sexual assault where it was appropriate to give a
sentence of less than four years," said Anber.

Sklar said that date-rape drugs could be defined as"weapons" in the
Criminal Code.

"Making date-rape drugs weapons in the criminal code is not controversial.
It's within Parliament's right to define criminal law," he said.

Anber said that M-458 is in line with the Canadian Alliance agenda of
tackling issues of safety and security.

"If we let people know they wouldn't just get a slap on the wrist, it will
be likely to deter sexual assault.

"The [Liberal] government will side with [this motion]," Anber said, "but
the Canadian Alliance made it a priority."

Date-rape drugs include Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), which is specifically
named in the Alliance's motion.

Dr. Pierre-Paul Tellier of McGill Health Services said that GHB in liquid
form is potentially tasteless, odourless and colourless and, therefore, can
be slipped into a drink undetected. GHB can cause the victim to lose
consciousness.

"The issue around the fact that it's called a date-rape drug is that it can
cause retrograde amnesia. When you take it, you forget more or less what
has happened while you're on it," Tellier said.

In addition, GHB disappears from the bloodstream and urine after a few
hours. Tellier said that there are specific tests to find this illegal
drug, but some emergency rooms don't have the chemicals needed to run the
tests.

Tellier feels that the Canadian Alliance's approach will not make a dent in
the problem of sexual assault. He questions what Moore is trying to
accomplish and worries that a vague definition of date-rape drugs could
lead to arrests for possession.

"Putting greater penalties on the possession of drugs does not lead to a
decrease in its use or availability but often will lead to products being
more unreliable [in their compositions] and, therefore, more dangerous," he
said.

Tellier said that money should be infused into underfunded educational
programs.

"[Drugs like GHB] are probably not widely used for [the] purpose [of
date-rape]," he said. "The most commonly used date-rape drug is alcohol."

Moore's campaign was launched at Carleton University and involves 48
Canadian Alliance campus clubs.