KIDS AT RISK WITH FEDERAL DRUG POLICIES: DE JONG

Abbotsford kids are being put at risk by federal government drug policies,
says a newly-elected school trustee.

But the man who ran for mayor of Abbotsford under a pro-marijuana banner
vows to fight any limits on pot possession, and said he will run against
Langley-Abbotsford (Canadian Alliance MP) Randy White in the next federal
election.

Uultsje De Jong is both an Abbotsford school trustee and chairman of the
Abbotsford Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment. Last
December, he was among those making presentations to the Special
Parliamentary Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs.

A total of 40 recommendations arise from the committee's report, unveiled
at Vancouver's Roundhouse Centre earlier this week. It's now up to the
federal government to decide whether to implement all or some of the
recommendations.

More than half a dozen of the recommendations, which were contained in part
one of the committee's final report tabled in the House of Commons, deal
with the topic of harm reduction, such as allowing safe injection sites.

One calls for the decriminalization of possession and cultivation of small
amounts of marijuana, 30 grams or less.

"Once again, they're putting the emphasis on the wrong end," De Jong told
the Abbotsford News on Thursday. "It should be on detox and treatment.

"For youths in our entire area, there's only five beds, at Maple Cottage in
New Westminster. It just doesn't make sense - I agree with Randy White,
it's harm extension, not harm reduction.

"Basically, the government is saying to our children 'The best we can do
for you is give you a clean needle."'

Safe injection sites - such as those eyed by Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell
- - will draw addicts from across North to America to the Lower Mainland, De
Jong believes. "I'm sure we'll end up with some of them out here. I'm not
trying to be negative about the plight of drug addicts, but let's be
serious and do the right thing. As a school trustee, I know we have a major
problem in Abbotsford -- there's all sorts of drugs available to our kids."
It's important for the community to support White in his opposition to some
of the committee's recommendations, said de Jong.

"He (White) was on a committee that was stacked against him. It (the
recommendations) fell into place according to the prime minister's agenda.
When the federal government takes the position that they'll continue to put
out kids at risk, we have to stand up and say no.

He suggested e-mailing Justice Minister Martin Cauchon a daily basis in
opposition.

The 40-year-old Cauchon has admitted to smoking pot in his youth.

However, Tim Felger, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in November and
supported safe injection sites for hard drugs, said he will be the first to
be arrested with more than 30 grams of weed if that amount becomes the
legal limit.

"I'll probably run for parliament. Randy White doesn't realize marijuana is
not a crime. We can't afford to police marijuana anymore, and any
government who says marijuana is a problem is an idiot.

"If you're going to buy pot, as a price-conscious consumer, you'll buy a
quarter pound," said Felger. "We have to go after the people who make up
these stupid 30-gram laws."

n In other legal news out of Ottawa, the federal government has tabled a
long-awaited legislation in the House of Commons that will establish a
federal registry for sex offenders.

But Bill C-23 doesn't go far enough, says the Canadian Alliance solicitor
general critic, Langley-Abbotsford MP Randy White. What the solicitor
general proposes would see more than 5,000 federal and provincial sex
offenders not appear on the new registry said White this week, "and they'll
get yet another free pass at the expense of future victims."

The law if passed will not be retroactive, which means, said White that
infamous sex offenders such as Karla Homolka -- scheduled to be released in
2004 -- won't be included in the database.

"It boggles the mind," he said. The Solicitor General said decided against
making the offender registry retroactive in order to protect inmate's rights.

"This is not a privacy issue. This is a protection issue," White said this week.