DRUG POLICY ISSUES STUDIED

The public and a group of progressive students are expected to dissect
Canada's policy on illicit drugs this Saturday (Jan. 25). "Drugs and the
Law: Examining Canada's Drug Policy" will feature presentations by a panel
of experts on various topics which relate to Canada's policy on illegal drugs.

Held at the University of Victoria and sponsored by the Law Foundation of
B.C. and the UVic Law Students' Society, the event has been organized by a
group of UVic law students who make up the Rational Drug Policy
Association. "Our goal is to educate our fellow students and the community
on the impact of Canada's drug laws," says co-organizer Leo Layne.

Among the issues to be raised, he says, is "the contention that prohibition
causes more harm than it avoids". That said, Layne expects conference
participants to explore "creative solutions" to prohibition. The list of
speakers for the one-day session is varied.

Keith Martin, Canadian Alliance MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, will speak
on "Drug Laws and Legislative Reform". Susan Boyd, UVic associate professor
on studies in policy and practice, will discuss "Women, Law and Drug
Policy: An Examination of Race, Class and Gender Factors".

BC Civil Liberties Association director Ross Lambertson will present "Drug
Laws: From Private Trouble to Public Issue" and Thomas Kerr, vice-president
of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, is also slated to make a
presentation. The recently formed Rational Drug Policy Association is
hammering out its policies on a number of drug-related issues. So far, the
UVic students have an idea of where they stand on illegal drugs.

"We're definitely of the view that the law needs to be changed," Layne
says, adding the association is also pushing for the legalization of marijuana.

Layne says this weekend's event likely won't be filled with debate, since
most of the speakers share the opinion that Canada's drug laws need to be
changed.

Aside from the issue of Canada's marijuana laws, other topics to be
discussed include the effectiveness of safe injection sites in dealing with
intravenous drug users.

Association members have yet to declare their views on hard drugs. But
Layne says they do think that the problem of intravenous drug use should be
treated as a health issue rather than treating users as criminals.

"The law is especially harsh on injection drug users. Our position is that
punishing them for it doesn't work. It's proven not to work."

The conference is open to the public and will be held from 10 a.m. to 3
p.m. in Room 159 of the Murray and Anne Fraser Building at UVic.