MP ALLIANCE LEADS CHARGE AGAINST DATE-RAPE DRUGS

OTTAWA -- Canadian Alliance MP James Moore is calling on the federal
government to make stiffer penalties for the "cowards" who use date rape drugs.

The British Columbia MP has tabled Private Member's Motion (M-458) to label
GHB and Rohypnol as date-rape drugs and to classify them as weapons under
the criminal code.

The motion also calls for the federal government to launch a national
awareness campaign and to establish standards through all police forces for
enforcement of the law.

Moore, 27, launched the initiative Tuesday at Carleton University, where,
along with 48 other Canadian Alliance campus clubs across the country, the
local club is spreading information and circulating a petition in support
for his motion.

"Anybody who has been on campus knows somebody or knows somebody who knows
somebody who has been directly affected by this," Moore said from his
Parliament Hill office Wednesday.

He doesn't expect a vote until after the next federal election.

But while Moore lobbies to push his bill through the legislative process,
at least one rape crisis center in Vancouver is calling his initiative
misguided.

"I didn't hear about this until yesterday (Tuesday)," said Suzanne Jay, a
rape crisis worker and the person who fields media calls at the Vancouver
Rape Relief and Women's shelter.

She said her organization is a member of the Canadian Association of Sexual
Assault Center and has been functioning for 30 years. She said Moore's team
didn't consult the organization.

In response, Moore said the date-rape drug offensive is a new campaign and
he doesn't want to make the proceedings too complicated. He said he plans
to distribute information to rape centers in the future.

Date rape drugs, such as the recently popular GHB and Rohypnol, are easily
slipped into drinks and food. Once ingested they act rapidly, making the
victim unconscious and unresponsive with little or no memory of what
happens while the drug is active in their system. All traces of the drug
can leave the body within 72 hours, and they do not show up in routine
toxicology screenings or blood tests.

The quick process, Moore said, makes it difficult for police to prosecute.
Joy, however, said that the laws are already in place, police simply choose
not to enforce them.

"There is certainly a policing problem, in the sense of sheer numbers and
the kind of crimes that are chewing up investigation time," Moore said.

Joy feels that Moore's initiative opens up a can of worms, because men use
alcohol, for example, to take advantage of woman and she asked,
rhetorically, if alcohol should be classified as a weapon too.

"The difference is a women voluntarily picks up a drink, tilts it back and
ingests it, if a woman knew that a date rape drug was in there, she
wouldn't drink the drink," Moore said in response, adding that you can't
protect all people at all times.

He said he's not moving forward with this motion to "posture" or "look good."

"The federal government really isn't doing anything and any fighting on
date rape drugs that you have ever seen is almost always an NGO, woman's
groups or student groups," he said.

It's been reported that Justice Minister Martin Cauchon favours the
education aspect of the program, but that the existing penalty for use of
the drug can be up to 14 years in jail.

Currently, in Canada, GHB, falls under the Canadian Controlled Drug and
Substances Act.